Now Reading: Doctors urge hydration, precautions as heatwave hits Bengal
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Doctors urge hydration, precautions as heatwave hits Bengal
For three days, Kolkata bank employee Sumanta Adak has been bedridden with a runny nose, high fever and unbearable body ache. Dr Swapan Biswas of the Service Doctors’ Forum says cases of…
The Story in Brief
For three days, Kolkata bank employee Sumanta Adak has been bedridden with a runny nose, high fever and unbearable body ache. Dr Swapan Biswas of the Service Doctors’ Forum says cases of sore throat, fever and heatstroke are rising across West Bengal as a severe heatwave combines heat with high humidity. Temperature fluctuations from moving between scorching outdoors and air-conditioned rooms are the main cause, he explains.
Dr Tirtha Pratim Purkait of Ruby General Hospital warns that sudden temperature changes and dry summer pollution increase viral influenza and naso-bronchial allergies. He advises masks, hand hygiene, and avoiding sudden cold exposure. Outdoor workers, farmers, construction labourers, police and athletes, face the highest risk of heatstroke. Doctors recommend frequent shaded breaks, umbrellas and carrying water bottles.
The Indian Opinion
The instinct to blame air conditioners for every seasonal illness misses the real point. Bengal's humidity, not the AC, is the true torment. The lazy narrative that only the poor suffer heatstroke ignores that office workers sitting under fans in unventilated spaces face similar risks. The real test will be whether civic authorities deploy cooling centres and issue staggered work-hour advisories for outdoor labour before the next heatwave peak.
Source: millenniumpost.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
