It’s a case of old fevers making a comeback. You have Covid-19 back in town along with a spike in swine flu, other type A influenza and RSV. For a lot of people, it is hard to put a name to what they have. With the weather being what it is, city doctors say they are dealing with an uptick in numbers and a good deal of symptom overlap.
What you will find in the clinic or lab
Walk into any number of private clinics or the big hospitals and the OPDs are full. People come in with high fevers, aches and a chest that is hard to clear. Some are in from days of being unwell, dehydrated and run down, which makes for a harder road to recovery.
Over at Breach Candy Hospital, the lab is turning up seven or more positives for either Covid or H1N1 on a given day, by one doctor’s count. This past Saturday alone, we had a Covid patient come in here and another over at Bhatia. And in the OPD, you will see new ones every day.
It isn’t just the lungs. We are also on top of a rise in viral gastroenteritis at places like Fortis in Mulund, which is putting some strain on our outpatient side and on the families looking after them.
The weather has something to do with it
You can put this down to the season, says Dr Daksha Shah, the BMC’s executive health officer. He has seen the recent numbers go up but would call the Covid figures so far modest and a product of the changing weather.
Epidemiologists will tell you that when the monsoon is held up and the air is still and muggy, respiratory viruses don’t die off as quickly. They figure things will get better once we have some good, hard rain to wash the atmosphere out.
Telling the difference without getting worked up
The trouble is the symptoms look the same, so you often need a PCR to be sure. That said, the Covid we are seeing now is mostly in the upper tract and leaves you with a kind of deep, all-over tiredness. You might have a fever, chills, a dry cough or a sore throat; some have even had stomach issues.
Swine flu is a different matter – it comes on quick and with force. You can be running 102 to 104 with a hacking cough and a headache that won’t quit. It is not unusual to have no appetite and be drenched in sweat from the chills.
Then there is RSV. For a fit adult it is a nasty cold with a wet, phlegmy cough and some mucus. The fever is nothing like what you get with swine flu. But in those who are more vulnerable, it can make you wheeze and put a damper on your appetite.
Who needs to be careful and how to handle it
For the average person, the current strain of Covid is not much to worry about and doesn’t usually end up in intensive care. The elderly, expectant mothers and those with conditions like diabetes or lung problems are in a different boat. If you pick up more than one bug at a time, it can do a number on your lungs and open the door to secondary infections.
So the word from public health is to do what you know: put on a mask in the local or at the market and be on top of your hygiene. If you are in a risk category, keep an eye on your oxygen and temperature with a pulse oximeter and don’t put off a visit if you start to struggle for air.
And don’t try to be your own doctor. There is no point in popping antibiotics or paracetamol willy-nilly; it can mask what is really going on and only adds to drug resistance. A proper check-up is the way to separate one infection from another and get on the right course of treatment.
If you see these, don’t put it off
Head to a hospital right away for:
– Any trouble with your breathing
– Ongoing pain or a feeling of pressure in the chest
– Confusion or being hard to rouse
– Lips or face turning blue
– Not being able to hold down any fluids
As for what is ahead, the clinicians I talk to think we will see a lull once the rains become steady. In the meantime, a little common sense and some early testing for those with concerns is all it takes to get through the season in one piece.
