Hot weather, many children have to be hospitalized, doctors recommend ways to prevent disease
(Baonghean.vn) - Over the past 3 days, the weather has been hot and sunny, with temperatures rising. The harsh weather has caused many children to get sick, requiring them to go to the doctor and be hospitalized for treatment.
During this hot weather, on average, about 1,000 children come to Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital every day for medical examination. Of these, about 1/3 of the children who come for examination have to be hospitalized for treatment. Children are hospitalized mainly due to some common diseases during hot weather such as viral fever, flu, hand, foot and mouth disease, chickenpox, measles, pneumonia, bronchitis, diarrhea, atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, etc.
Not only in the clinic but also in the treatment departments, there are many patients. At the Department of Gastroenterology and Hematology, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, the bed capacity always exceeds 100% (110 beds). On average, there are about 30-40 patients in the treatment department every day. The number of patients coming in and out is continuous...
Patients admitted to the department suffer from many different diseases. The most common are acute diarrhea (caused by viruses and bacteria); fever, vomiting with digestive disorders; constipation; stomach; abdominal pain of unknown cause; gastroesophageal reflux...
There are many reasons why children suffer from digestive diseases. To prevent these diseases, parents need to pay attention to environmental hygiene and personal hygiene for children; need to give children enough nutrients, a diverse diet, increase vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins C and A to support the immune system...
Parents should not let children eat raw food, spoiled food, drink raw water, or drink too much ice water; use food covers and kill flies. Parents should wash their hands with soap before eating and preparing food for children.
Similarly, at the Respiratory Department, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital during this time, the number of patients usually fluctuates from 120-150 patients. Each day, the department receives 25-35 patients for treatment. The main diseases are pneumonia, bronchitis, laryngitis, bronchiolitis... some severe cases have respiratory failure requiring oxygen. According to statistics from the Respiratory Department, compared to the same period in 2023, the number of patients increased by 15-20%.
Dr. Bui Anh Son - Head of the Respiratory Department, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital stated: One of the causes of children suffering from respiratory diseases is the improper use of fans and air conditioners during the hot season.
To prevent illness in children, parents should note: Do not let the fan or air conditioner blow directly into the child's face. The air conditioner temperature should be set at 27-28 degrees Celsius. If the family does not have a humidifier, place a pot of water in the child's room to increase humidity.
Avoid going in and out frequently between the high temperature outside and the low temperature in the air-conditioned room. Before leaving the air-conditioned room, turn off the air conditioner 20-30 minutes in advance so that the temperature can gradually equalize with the outside temperature to avoid heat shock as well as diseases such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and respiratory failure.
Parents should cover their children with a thin blanket when lying in an air-conditioned room to keep their stomach and neck warm. Pay attention to the child’s temperature. If the child sweats, dry them immediately to avoid the sweat from seeping back in. Parents should dress their children in sweat-absorbent clothing… In this hot weather, parents need to provide enough water, nutrition, and fruits for their children.
Dr. Bui Anh Son added: This season, infectious diseases occur quite often such as flu, measles, viral fever. Therefore, parents should limit their children from going to crowded places. Be careful not to let children come into contact with sick people. Vaccinations should be carried out for diseases that can be prevented by vaccination.
When children show signs of abnormal health (such as respiratory tract infection, high fever that does not go down, frequent vomiting, red rash and blisters on the body, sneezing, fatigue, etc.), they should be taken to a medical facility immediately for treatment to avoid the condition getting worse; do not arbitrarily buy medicine to treat children at home.
Giving children medicine without permission is extremely dangerous. Not only will the illness not be cured, it will also become more severe and even cause drug resistance due to improper use. The hospital has had to treat many children who were poisoned by drugs./.
