Despite the fact that Doha has a mild winter, people are still prone to catching seasonal flu and respiratory diseases. The number of seasonal flu cases, tonsillitis and bronchial asthma have increased by about 50 percent over the past few days, say doctors.
Flu mostly results from cold weather, while the winds and dust cause tonsillitis and bronchial asthma among children and adults. “Here in Qatar, seasonal flu is common in October and it will continue until the end of February. During this time we see common cold and fever frequently. The past few days have seen an increase in cases of tonsillitis and bronchial asthma due to winds and dust,” said Dr Sakir T P, Family Physician at the Aster Clinic in Al Rayyan.
“Among all patients we see, between 50 to 70 percent have tonsillitis and bronchial asthma. There are also many people with diarrhea as result of the flu, ” he added.
Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that causes periodic ‘attacks’ of coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. When tonsils are infected by bacteria or viruses, they swell and become inflamed, a condition known as tonsillitis.
Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
High-risk category for the severe flu include small children under the age of five, pregnant women, those with chronic health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, asthma and other chronic lung conditions, people with cancer and those on immunosuppressive therapy and the elderly.
Hand hygiene key to preventing infections
Dr Sakir advised people to take precautions such as covering nose and mouth with a tissue while coughing or sneezing, then discard the tissue, wash hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth, and avoid close contact with sick people.
“Hand hygiene is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of infections. Cleaning your hands can prevent the spread of germs, including those that are resistant to antibiotics and are becoming difficult to treat,” he said.
Besides flu and respiratory diseases hospitals and clinics also have seen an increase in cases of chickenpox in the past two weeks. “There is a huge increase in the number of cases with flu, asthma and other problems due to the weather.
But there are also cases of chicken-pox, which increases as the disease spreads fast,” said a physician specialised in emergency care. “For example, if someone gets chicken pox in a labour camp or at school it spreads to others fast. The infected should stay away from others, especially at school or work until all the blisters have dried up and scabbed over,” he said.
