Bhubaneswar: Hospitals in the city are witnessing a spurt in cold and cough cases with patients complaining of cough that irritates their throat and makes them restless. It is taking several days to get rid of it despite taking medicines. Doctors said people prone to allergy are facing difficulties due to change in weather.
Chinmay Gochhayat, a resident of Chandrasekharpur, visited a medicine specialist at a private hospital here on Wednesday due to persistent cough and throat irritation. “I get restless due to prolonged cough. It has continued for more than three weeks now,” he said.
Like him, many others are visiting different hospitals and clinics to consult doctors for the cough that often increases during the evening and night. “Usually, the intensity of cold and cough reduces after five days. But in some cases, people do not get respite from dry cough after a common cold. Some of them continuously cough in cold conditions,” said Dr Anupam Dey, head of general medicine department, AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
He said respiratory tracts are becoming hyper-reactive because of the viral infection, and it irritates the throat. “Some people have pre-existing allergic conditions, and they get prolonged cough after a common cold. Asthma in a patient makes the condition worse. There are some particular viruses that cause prolonged cough,” he added.
Dey said they prescribe anti-allergic and anti-histamine drugs to reduce this. “Sometimes we prescribe inhalers to asthma patients. We treat by considering the personal conditions of patients. We are receiving such cases in our OPD every day. Sudden changes in day and night temperature create such conditions,” he added.
Dr Pradeep Narayan Sahoo, an internal medicine specialist, said people use home remedies or over-the-counter drugs to get respite from cold and cough. “When they do not get relief, they come to us with a complaint of prolonged cough. If it persists for a longer period, we conduct a diagnosis to know the reason. Some viruses lead to throat infection and pneumonia,” he added.
He said healing post-viral infection is getting delayed due to the allergy. “Patients can use masks during this period to stay away from allergies like pollution. Sometimes we give nebulisation to help the patients. Gargling and breathing exercises help too,” he added.