Humidity increases the number of elderly and children hospitalized

The number of patients coming to the hospital tends to increase.

The North is entering the days of drizzle and humidity. This is a favorable condition for viruses, bacteria and molds to grow, causing many diseases affecting the health of many people.

In fact, at many hospitals, the number of patients coming for examination and treatment tends to increase, especially diseases related to the respiratory system such as flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, etc.

Present from early morning of March 15 at the Examination Department, Ha Dong General Hospital (Hanoi), Mr. NXH (Chuong My, Hanoi) said that he has had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease since 2007, so every time the weather changes, he has difficulty breathing, his body feels hot and very uncomfortable. This time of changing seasons, humid weather, his symptoms are even worse. Therefore, Mr. H was taken to the clinic by his family to prevent the disease from getting worse.

Doctor examines a child with pneumonia at Ha Dong General Hospital

In addition to the elderly, children are also susceptible to diseases in the current hot and humid weather conditions. While taking care of her 3-year-old daughter who is being treated at the Pediatrics Department, Ha Dong General Hospital, Ms. PTTT (in Yen Nghia, Ha Dong) said that more than a week ago, the weather changed erratically, her daughter had a high fever and coughed a lot, so her family took her to the hospital for examination, where the doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia and ordered her to be hospitalized for treatment.

Also having a child hospitalized for pneumonia, Ms. D.TH (Kim Bai, Thanh Oai, Hanoi) said that her child is very "sensitive" to the weather. Therefore, when the weather is unusual, the child often gets sick. This time, the couple saw that the child stopped breastfeeding, coughed, had a runny nose, and had difficulty breathing, so they took the child to the doctor and were diagnosed with pneumonia.

Similarly, at Thanh Nhan Hospital, recently this unit has also received an increase in the number of patients coming for examination and treatment compared to the previous period. In particular, the number of patients with flu and bronchitis coming for examination and treatment this week has increased sharply compared to last week.

In addition, the hospital also received many children hospitalized with diseases caused by humid weather such as pneumonia, some infectious diseases such as chickenpox, viral fever, measles...

Be careful of respiratory diseases

Dr. Pham Chien Thang, Deputy Head of the Examination Department, Ha Dong General Hospital, said that recently, the constantly changing weather, hot and humid, has caused the number of patients with respiratory diseases to increase. Specifically, in the past 1-2 weeks, the number of patients coming to the hospital for examination has increased by 20-30% compared to normal days. Mainly respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, chronic lung disease, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, etc.

Weather changes, increasing respiratory diseases

According to Dr. Pham Chien Thang, with the increasing number of patients, the hospital has organized examinations and screenings. Severe cases will be prescribed for hospitalization, while mild cases that do not require hospitalization will be instructed by doctors to monitor and treat at home, avoiding overload and cross-infection during the current humid weather.

Explaining the reason why respiratory diseases increase in humid weather, Dr. Nguyen Van Giang, Deputy Head of the Department of Respiratory and Lung Diseases, Ha Dong General Hospital, said: Humidity and high humidity are favorable conditions for viruses, bacteria, molds, and parasites to develop. For patients with chronic lung disease with poor health combined with such environmental factors, the risk of secondary infections increases as well as stimulating the recurrence of acute lung disease.

Notably, according to Dr. Nguyen Van Giang, the Department of Respiratory and Lung Diseases is treating a number of patients with complicated developments, with the disease progressing rapidly and much more severely than before. Accordingly, in the morning the patient may be normal but in the afternoon there are episodes of difficulty breathing and spasms. Therefore, doctors always closely monitor patients to avoid the disease progressing more severely.

For young patients, doctors say that children are the first group most susceptible to health effects due to weather. When the weather changes, it is too cold or humid like now, children with low resistance are very susceptible to illness, especially children with allergies to the weather.

In case the child is sick and not treated early, the virus can enter the lungs and cause respiratory failure very quickly. Especially for children with allergies and asthma, they are very susceptible to asthma attacks in this weather due to the impact of humid air, plus mold in the house causing asthma attacks.

How to prevent disease in humid weather

According to experts, the best way to prevent diseases during the wet season is to have solutions to maintain a clean living environment and improve the body's resistance. It is necessary to maintain a scientific lifestyle: sleep on time and get enough sleep; pay attention to daily exercise to expose to sunlight to improve the body's resistance against pathogens.

Doctors at Thanh Nhan Hospital said that recently, the number of patients coming for examination and treatment has increased compared to the previous period, mainly for flu, bronchitis...

Especially for the elderly and children, it is necessary to pay attention to a reasonable, scientific, balanced diet with full of necessary nutrients, micronutrients and vitamins. Eat cooked food and drink boiled water to avoid digestive diseases; minimize eating raw or undercooked food.

In addition, when leaving the house, you should wear a mask to prevent illness. Wear enough clothes to adapt to the weather outside. Always bring an umbrella or raincoat when going out to avoid getting cold from the rain.

In addition, it is necessary to ensure food hygiene and safety in humid weather; do not eat spoiled or moldy food to avoid infection; keep dishes and chopsticks clean and free of mold.

Use a dehumidifier to create dryness or turn on the air conditioner in dry mode to reduce humidity, maintaining air humidity at 40 - 60% is best. Clothes need to be dried thoroughly to avoid creating conditions for mold to grow.

On the other hand, floors and glass doors are places where water easily accumulates, causing dampness and slipperiness, making it dangerous to move around, so they need to be wiped regularly with a dry cloth. Limit opening doors so that humid air can enter the house.

Experts recommend that when experiencing symptoms such as cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, etc., people should go to the doctor for an accurate diagnosis, not arbitrarily buy antibiotics or fever-reducing drugs to treat themselves, and not reuse old prescriptions.

People with chronic diseases need to follow their doctor's instructions, maintain their prescriptions and take good measures to control their disease. If there are any unusual symptoms, they should contact their doctor immediately for timely advice.

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Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/gia-tang-tinh-trang-nguoi-gia-tre-nho-nhap-vien-do-thoi-tiet-nom-am-172240315170319883.htm