Nghe An: Hot weather, thousands of patients hospitalized due to respiratory infections

Hot weather, many sick children have to go to hospital for examination and treatment. Photo: Thanh Hoa

According to a report from Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital: From May 13 to 20, there were 1,145 patients hospitalized for treatment of respiratory tract infections such as cough, runny nose, high fever, sore throat, mouth ulcers; an increase of 20-30% compared to the same period last year.

At this time, the hospital's Respiratory Department is overloaded. The department currently has more than 200 pediatric patients being treated, mainly infants and newborns. Many patients with respiratory infections have had complications that spread to the lungs.

In the past week, the number of children suffering from respiratory illnesses due to air conditioning has skyrocketed. Photo: Thanh Hoa

Ms. Pham Thi Huong in Nhan Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, whose child Nguyen Canh Thien (36 months old) is being treated at the hospital, shared: The weather has been so hot these past few days that he has been playing around and sweating a lot, constantly asking to bathe and drink water. For the past three days, the family has seen him runny nose, coughing, fatigue, loss of appetite and high fever, so they took him to the hospital for examination and testing. The doctor concluded that he had a respiratory infection.

Not only at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, but also at Vinh City General Hospital, the number of patients with respiratory infections has increased significantly. Last week, 1,812 patients were hospitalized due to respiratory infections, mainly children and the elderly.

Measuring blood pressure for the elderly at Vinh City General Hospital. Photo: Thanh Hoa

Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan, from Truong Thi ward (Vinh city) is being treated at the hospital and said: The weather has been so hot these past few days, I couldn't eat, and I've been in the air conditioner a lot, so my whole family caught a cold. My whole body is tired, I have a sore throat, and I cough a lot. I couldn't take it anymore so I went to the hospital this morning and was diagnosed with respiratory infection and had to be hospitalized for treatment.

According to information from the Provincial General Hospital, from May 13 to 18, 6,824 people came to see a doctor, of which 1,519 were hospitalized. In particular, in the past 3 days, more than 10 elderly patients were hospitalized due to heat stroke and there was a death due to heat stroke.

To prevent illness during hot days, doctors recommend:

- People should limit going out and working outdoors between 11am and 3:30pm to avoid heatstroke. If forced to go outside during this time, people should wear closed clothes and masks. In particular, when encountering a patient with heatstroke or sunstroke, it is necessary to immediately take the patient to the shade and perform first aid.

-When giving first aid, it is necessary to remove some of the patient’s clothes and use a cool towel to wipe the entire body of the patient with heat stroke. Even ice should be applied to the patient’s head and neck to reduce the fever, then the patient should be taken immediately to the nearest medical facility for treatment.