Bengaluru: With city hospitals facing a rash of cases related to dengue and dengue-like illnesses, the health experts have warned the people to be on the lookout for key symptoms and seek medical help at the earliest.
“We have had almost 40-50 admissions because of dengue in the last three months, with eight patients requiring ventilator support,” said Dr Vishwanath Veeranna, Director-in charge, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH).
Shockingly, in the month of June the hospital witnessed 587 dengue-like cases, out of which 240 tested positive. “The dengue issue should be attacked by the public health authorities on war footing considering the surge in cases,” he added.
However since many cases that come to hospitals have dengue-like symptoms, the doctors advice caution and subject them to various tests. “The key symptoms to look out for and consult a doctor would be high fever along with body ache and feeling of malaise,” warns Dr Veeranna.
“Dengue starts with chills, headache, pain while moving the eyes and low backache. Pain in the legs and joints occur during the early stages of the illness. The temperature rises quickly as high as 104 F, with relatively low heart rate (bradycardia) and low blood pressure (hypotension),” said Dr H. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman & Medical Director, Manipal Health Enterprises.
Symptoms to watch out for
- High fever
- Body ache andjoint pain
- Headache
- Pain in the eyes
- Low backache
515 cases in city
In the BBMP area, 515 cases of dengue and 176 cases of chikungunya have been reported, while 119 dengue and 151 chikungunya cases were been reported in Bengaluru Urban. “These places have a high migrant population,” said state Health Director Dr G.M. Vamadeva.
Papaya extract a hit
Surprisingly, people are not only resorting to antibiotic treatments prescribed by doctors for dengue treatment. Thrombobliss, a papaya leaves extract tonic, are flying off the shelves at medical shops. “Our neighbourhood medical shop owner said he had ordered for thrombobliss this morning and by noon he had sold the whole stock. He has promised to get us a bottle by evening,” said a city resident.
