Delhi-NCR has seen a surge in high fever cases among children, mainly due to fluctuating weather conditions due to the transition from cold to warm seasons.
Paediatricians have discovered that due to the influx of admissions and outpatient visits to outpatient departments (OPDs) due to anxious parents bringing their children, children’s fever often exceeds 101 degrees and sometimes reaches as high as 104.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dr RD Srivastava, director of the Department of Pediatric Medicine and Neonatology at the New Delhi-based Sri Balaji Institute of Mobile Medical Sciences, said the surge in cases of viral fever in children is “worrying”.
“With 15 to 20 cases reported daily in outpatient clinics and five to eight hospital admissions, our young people are facing challenging circumstances due to fluctuating weather conditions.”
Srivastava said he has seen some children reporting fevers as high as 104.5 degrees. Other doctors expressed similar trends.
Dr. Veena Raghunathan, senior consultant, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, points out that 7 out of 10 children who visit her hospital today suffer from Such symptoms.
“Patients often arrive with a temperature over 101 degrees Fahrenheit, runny nose, sore throat, headache and dry cough. Parents are distraught because acetaminophen only provides temporary or partial relief from fever.”
Dr. Praveen Makhija, Chief Consultant, Paediatrics, Saket Max Smart Super Specialty Hospital, also confirmed this trend. “I see about 10-12 cases every day,” he said, adding that parents don’t need to worry if their children are active and playful after having a fever. However, if a child is slow and inactive, they must consult a medical professional.
“If a child is not eating well, he or she needs to be hospitalized,” he advises.
New flu variant or flu virus?
Experts believe changing weather and rising pollution levels can exacerbate viral infections, creating an ideal environment for its spread.
“Temperature fluctuations caused by the transition from cold to warm weather appear to be the main cause of the increase in viral infections,” Ragunathan said. Sharing her experience, she said that during the peak winter season, “many infants and young children are infected with respiratory syncytial virus.” affected by the virus this year, but that is now declining.”
She believes the current surge appears to be due to “new flu variants.”
Additionally, experts believe that unpredictable weather conditions and air pollution exacerbate allergies and asthma in children and increase the likelihood of infections.
Dr. Dinesh Raj, a pediatrician at Delhi’s Holy Family Hospital, also sees many such patients with acute attacks of high fever and respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms. “Most of these are viral and turn out to be influenza. We do not routinely test outpatients for influenza as there is no clear indication. But patients who are sick need to be tested,” Raj added.
what to do?
Medical experts say frequent hand washing and wearing a mask in crowded public places can help prevent the spread of these infections.
Children who are already suffering must get adequate rest and drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.
“For viral fever, treatment is supportive care in nature,” Holy Family Hospital’s Raj said. “We encourage bed rest and plenty of fluids. Take acetaminophen for fever. Ibuprofen can be given on a case-by-case basis. But it’s needed Make sure you’re hydrated as ibuprofen is known to affect the kidneys.”
Doctors stress that unnecessary use of medications other than paracetamol should be avoided unless prescribed by a doctor.
“Paracetaminophen should be used in the correct dose to treat fever. It is the safest medicine,” Makhija said, adding that parents should avoid self-administering doses of mefenamic acid or ibuprofen to children. “They must take these medications under a doctor’s supervision.”
Doctors suggest that wiping with warm water can also help control fever, especially in young children. In addition, if a high fever occurs, parents must try to make their children comfortable and avoid “overdressing.”
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