Dehradun: Dry air and severe cold have created a health crisis in many parts of Uttarakhand, especially for small children. Doctors have warned that due to seasonal changes, an alarming increase in cases of pneumonia has been recorded in children, which is often proving fatal. Many pneumonia patients are reaching the Pediatrics Department of Doon Medical College, Dehradun every day. You can take many measures to protect your children from this.
While using the heater in the room, use a humidifier or keep a vessel filled with water, so that the air remains moist. Get your child vaccinated for pneumococcal and flu on time. If symptoms like chest pain, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are seen in the child or difficulty in breathing and chest collapse in children can also be symptoms of pneumonia.
Dr. Ashok Kumar, Head, Department of Pediatrics, Doon Medical College Hospital, a government hospital in Dehradun, said that generally cold, cough and cold keep occurring during winters, this is a normal thing in children. If you are not able to get the child treated properly on time, then this problem can take a serious form. Due to negligence of parents, when children catch cold, then along with cold, cough and cold, they start having chest tightness and pain, a rumbling sound starts coming from the chest, these can be symptoms of pneumonia. Children whose immune system is weak are more likely to suffer from pneumonia during winter.
Keep these things in mind
Dr. Ashok explains that it is important to take special care of children during winter, because they can suffer from cold, cough and flu as well as problems like pneumonia. Apart from protecting children from cold by dressing them in several layers, you can also use heaters in your homes. Many people think that because children are at home, they wear light clothes, which is wrong. Make sure to show sunlight to children during winter days.
Bottle feeding increases infection
Along with the clothes of the children, it is also important to take care of their feeding. Those who feed their children with milk bottles need to know that there is the highest risk of infection due to this. If the bottle is lying anywhere and is not cleaned, then further infection occurs. Along with this, if you store milk in it, it gets cooled and the cold milk helps in forming mucus. Therefore, keep in mind that the bottle should remain clean and whenever you give milk to the child, give it lukewarm or hot. If possible, add a pinch of turmeric to it. Mother’s milk is considered the most powerful for the child, so try to breastfeed the child so that his immunity can be strengthened.
