Winter illnesses rise amid sharp temperature dip

Officials of the weather department have said that the impact of the northwesterly would continue for another couple of days, as temperatures sharply decrease, especially at night and the early morning hours

MUSCAT: A sudden drop in temperature, accompanied by northwesterly winds, has triggered a variety of winter illnesses—the most common among them being the viral flu, respiratory infections and pharyngitis (sore throat) symptoms, said doctors at the private hospitals.

“The change in temperature is forcing many people to fall sick. Compared with January last year, there is a 25 per cent rise in the number of flu patients,” Dr Basheer, senior internist at Badr Al Samaa Hospital in Ruwi, said.

Basheer, who treats more than 20 to 25 flu patients every day, believes the increase might be due to the change in weather conditions. “Moreover, there is an increase in number of patients with complicated flu conditions coming to hospital, especially, those who have diabetes and those who are aged,” he said.

New patients

Dr V.C.P. Mohammed, specialist, Internal Medicine at Atlas Hospital Ruwi, also confirmed that he was getting “plenty of viral flu cases” from Muscat.

The doctor’s register showed a daily turnout of a large number of new patients other than follow up patients. “Citizens and residents should go for flu vaccines if they are facing too many health problems,” doctors told the

Indian expat S Ghosh is down with flu this week. “My son had it from school and then my entire family came down with flu,” he further said.

Not too worried, Ghosh termed it as a seasonal problem every year. “Unless I see symptoms that are out of place, I do not worry much,” he said.

Flu symptoms

The usual symptoms for flu include sore throat, cough, nasal congestion, heaviness in the head, body pain and fatigue, Ghosh said, adding but “rest is the best remedy.”

He also said that infections and fever are common as winter peaks and advised precaution.

“It is better not to go out when there are strong winds blowing and to use face masks if you are visiting any place where there is a lot of dust,” he warned.

Doctors also cautioned the elderly and children, especially as they are more vulnerable to such attacks. “The best thing to do in this season is to practice good hygiene and wash your hands often as a good hand wash will kill the virus,” doctors said.

Advice for children

City-based doctors also prescribed warm clothing for children if they are moving out. “Do not let children go out without a pullover after sundown if the temperatures fall. Cold desserts and chilled water should be avoided. School-going children must cover their ears in morning. Early morning chill and fog can make them sick,” they said.

They also revealed that viral diarrhoea, tonsillitis, bronchitis and respiratory infections were common among the children in the city.

The classic symptoms of a cold are mild fever, watery or slightly yellow nasal discharge, a scratchy feeling in the throat, cough and body ache.

More expected

Officials at the weather department said the northwesterly winds’ impact would continue for another couple of days, as temperatures sharply decrease, especially during the night and early morning.

Meanwhile, the lowest temperature on Monday was recorded in Jebel Shams, where it reached 4 degrees Celsius.

24-hour outlook

In its 24-hour outlook, the Met Department said mainly clear skies would be seen over most of the Sultanate, with a chance of late night to early morning lowlevel clouds or fog patches over the governorates of Al Buraimi and Al Dahirah.