It was around 10am on Saturday morning when Reshma, a young mother of a three-month-old baby named Redwan, was found waiting in a long queue outside the emergency room of Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital.
Redwan was breathing abnormally and continuously crying on his mother’s lap.
When asked what was wrong, Reshma burst into tears and said her baby had been suffering from fever for the past week and could not be cured by the medicine prescribed by a local doctor in Narsingdi’s Upochar Padma village.
Clueless about what treatment to follow next, Reshma brought Redwan to Dhaka Shishu Hospital for expert opinion.
Mistaking this reporter to be a doctor, she pleaded and asked whether her son faced any danger.
Hundreds of parents also waiting at the hospital with their children shared similar concerns as Reshma, as winter had caused many children to fall ill with cold-related diseases including virus fever, pneumonia, diarrhea, asthma and other diseases.
Dr Hossain Shahid Kamrul Alam, deputy director of Dhaka Shishu Hospital, told the Dhaka Tribune that the number of sick children had increased a lot at the hospital.
Around 700-800 patients had daily been visiting the outdoor and emergency department, compared to the usual figures of 400-500 a day.
Most of the children were coming with cold related diseases like pneumonia, diarrohea, bronchiolitis and asthma.
The Dhaka Shishu Hospital currently has 566 beds (55% free and 45% paying) and the admission of the patients depended on the availability of bed vacancy.
A record keeping official in the hospital said during January 9-16, more than 5,000 children visited the hospital’s outdoor and emergency department.
Only less than 800 could be admitted, as adequate beds were not available. Among those admitted, 136 had pneumonia and 80 were diarrheal patients.
Shilpi, the aunt of a newborn, held the baby wrapped in a blanket as she waited to see a doctor at the emergency department. She said the baby had been facing difficulties breathing since he was born on Friday afternoon at home in Shingair of Manikganj district.
Ferdousi, a resident of Dhaka’s Jhigatola, had brought her two-and-half-year-old daughter Samia, who had been suffering from diarrhea for the past few days. Treatment suggested at a local pharmacy had not been able to cure the girl properly, Ferdousi said.
Jainob, mother of a three-month-old baby named Rihan, had come from Siddirganj of Narayanganj to treat the fever that Rihan has been suffering since December 26. A local homeopathic doctor and a local pharmacist failed to cure the baby, prompting the mother to bring her child to Dhaka Shishu Hospital for a specialist’s advice.
Dr Mushtuq Husain, a principal scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said thousands of children were now facing the risk of cold-related diseases because of the severe cold across the country.
He said children were easily infected by fever, cold, pneumonia, diarrhea, asthma and others diseases, as their bodies were vulnerable to cold temperature.
Dr Mushtaque also advised to keep children in warm clothes, keep rooms warm at any cost and to visit doctors immediately.
