Srinagar: For the past many days, the incidence of fever, cough and runny nose has been on the rise among the children. However, doctors say there is no need to panic.
“My son was running a fever and I straight away took him to G B Pant (Childrens’) Hospital. However, there was such a heavy rush of children waiting for consultation that I brought my son back and took him to a doctor at his private clinic,” said a parent Nasir Ahmad of Srinagar.
Dr Altaf Ahmad, a pediatrician at the hospital said that the number of children being brought to OPD at the G B Pant Hospital has almost doubled over the past few days.
Explaining the reasons for the surge in incidence of flu-like symptoms among the children, the doctor said that for the last three years, as the schools were closed due to COVID lockdown, the children were not coming in contact with their counterparts – so there were no cross-infections.
He said there is no need to worry as it is upper respiratory-tract infections which are infecting the children. Fever, runny nose, and cough are common symptoms.
He said children should consume a healthy diet and drink lukewarm water to stay hydrated.
He said it is normal for the children to contract viral infections, sometimes even two to three times in a single month. And all these infections are not necessarily related to Covid, he said, while urging parents to keep calm and not to panic. (With KNO inputs)
