Cold brings misery for the little ones in Ctg

Shubhechcha Ghosh, from the Askar Dighir Par area of Chattogram city, brought her five-year-old son, who had a fever and cough, to a doctor, who prescribed a course of antibiotics after examination. The worried mother said her child had caught a cold even though winter had not yet set in.

Like her son, numerous children in the port city have fallen ill with cold-borne diseases such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis.

Prof Dr Mohammad Musa, head of the Child Health Ward at Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), said infants and children are particularly vulnerable to such cold-borne diseases during late autumn and winter.

At CMCH, two units of the 140-bed paediatric ward were overwhelmed with 381 patients undergoing treatment on Tuesday.

Asma Akter was seen using a nebuliser on her eight-month-old daughter that afternoon to help ease her breathing discomfort. "I don't know what happened to my daughter… she is unable to breathe normally," she said.

Dr Musa urged parents to immediately seek treatment for infants who experience breathing difficulties. He stressed the importance of keeping children in smoke-free places, adding that vaccination and proper personal hygiene are essential for preventing diseases.

A similar situation prevailed at Chattogram Ma O Shishu General Hospital.

Dr Fahim Hasan Reza, associate professor in the hospital's Paediatrics Department, said, "The number of patients increased from the usual 80-100 to 422 today [Tuesday], with the majority having pneumonia. All 41 NICU beds are currently occupied. Of them, 35 patients have pneumonia."

"Many parents arrive late when the illness worsens. Parents should not take any breathing problems of their child lightly," he added.

Dr Rezaul Karim, former head of CMCH's Paediatric Department, said bronchiolitis is a respiratory disease requiring oxygen treatment, which cannot be administered at home.

He too urged parents to hospitalise children showing rapid breathing or breathing discomfort.