Hospitals are seeing an increase in cases of stomach infection, loose motions, dehydration, dizziness and fever — all linked to the ongoing heat wave. Doctors are anticipating a huge surge in admissions related to heat in the coming days as the weather department issued a ‘Red Alert’ warning for Delhi-NCR.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a Red Alert for heatwaves in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and most parts of Western Rajasthan for Sunday (May 19).
According to doctors in Delhi-NCR, excessive heat conditions are mostly impacting the elderly, infants, young kids and working individuals involved in travelling or working in the sun.
“Heat-related admissions have increased this week, with people showing symptoms of dehydration, gastroenteritis and heat-related fever. Such admissions are expected to grow even further in the coming days as temperature spikes,” Dr Sumit Ray, medical director at Holy Family Hospital in Delhi, told News18.
“The elderly and infants are affected due to inadequate heat control mechanisms of the body. Even if they don’t venture out in the heat, they may still be affected. Other categories are young children and the working class who are exposed to the outside harsh weather conditions.”
Dr Manisha Arora, unit head, internal medicine, at New Delhi-based Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute has been observing a significant increase in cases of acute gastroenteritis, dysentery with dehydration, and typhoid fever. “We are seeing seven to eight patients daily in our OPD.”
Similarly, Dr Yatin Mehta, chairman, Institute of Critical Care and Anesthesiology at Gurugram-based Medanta, told News18 that the consequences of the ongoing heat wave are becoming evident as emergency and hospital admissions rise.
“While dehydration is a major issue, people must also remember to maintain the consumption of salt which they lose while sweating,” he advised. “Salt loss leads to drop in blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, heart attack and stroke.”
Mehta added that dehydration or salt loss leads to lethal injuries due to fainting or a drop in BP such as a head injury due to a fall or heart attack or strokes due to low BP. “Dehydration also leads to thickness in the blood causing attacks or strokes.”
Dr Satish Koul, Senior Director and Unit Head, Internal Medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon, said: In OPD, we are also seeing many heat-related illnesses like dehydration. The number of cases is increasing every day. At present, we are looking at almost 10 patients per day.”
Experts added that the current weather conditions also lead to stomach infections as people end up drinking unhygienic water if they feel thirsty and do not have access to clean water around.
Condition outside Delhi-NCR
Doctors in western and eastern India also noticed a spike in hospital visits due to extreme heat conditions.
Sample this: Dr Manish Maheshwari, consultant internal medicine at Narayana Hospital Ahmedabad said that he has been witnessing an increase is 10-15 per cent in OPD cases related to mild and moderate symptoms due to dehydration such as dryness of mouth, cramps in the leg, fatigue and more.
He advised that people need to be cautious during the scorching heat period as prolonged exposure to heat along with high body temperature can lead to increased heart rate, cramps, headache, diarrhoea, loss of consciousness, and seizures. “If immediate medical attention is not given, it can be life-threatening,” Maheshwari said.
Similarly, Dr Ramyajit Lahiri, head of the department, emergency medicine, at Narayana Hospital in Howrah, West Bengal, told News18 that he has been witnessing a 30-40 per cent increase in patients with heat-affected problems every day.
“A majority of them is elders. Most of them have pre-existing health conditions such as chronic respiratory, heart, and kidney diseases, or diabetes,” he said, adding that most of them are presenting with severe dehydration and low blood pressure.
Lahiri explained that such cases are dealt with caution. “We cannot go for instant massive fluid resuscitation as there is a danger of fluid overload and deterioration.”
He pointed out another trend. “We are witnessing that people are severely affected by viral gastroenteritis combined with heat-induced dehydration, and that makes them critically ill.”
He advised that old age groups should be extra careful against exposure to high temperatures.
How do heat-related illnesses become lethal?
Dr Ray said he generally admits around four to five cases of “rhabdomyolysis” every week during the peak summer season.
Rhabdomyolysis is a life-threatening condition which occurs due to overheating of the body. “Starting from 103 degrees Fahrenheit, the body temperature touches 106 degrees Fahrenheit in some cases. Here the reason behind fever is not an infection but excessive heat.”
In such cases, the muscles of the body start breaking down leading to the release of toxins which can damage the kidney and lead to multi-organ failure.
“The treatment for severe heat strokes includes keeping patients in air-conditioned rooms with cooling blankets, cold intravenous fluids and in rare conditions, using machines for cooling of blood,” he explained.
In northern India, dry heat conditions prevail and people don’t visibly sweat as much, as the skin dries up fast. Experts advise that even if one is not sweating heavily, one needs to drink plenty of fluids at these temperatures.
How to protect yourself?
Experts advise that one should stay away from consuming aerated drinks in the name of hydration.
“Aerated drinks have a lot of sugar which makes them work exactly opposite of what people expect them to do,” Mehta from Medanta said while advising against the consumption of high sugar.
“Sugar, indirectly, leads to dehydration. It draws more fluids from the body into the intestines or gut. The best ways to hydrate include drinking water with a pinch of salt and sugar, coconut water, homemade salt-based lassi or buttermilk and lime water. “
Apart from hydration, doctors advised to avoid outside food and water.
“Carry your water from home, and drink plenty of fluids like lemon water or ORS, especially when outdoors,” said Arora from Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute.
She suggested people protect themselves from the sun with goggles, hats, or umbrellas, wear lightweight, loose, cotton clothes, and avoid peak sun hours between 12-3pm.
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