Paediatricians are warning that children are at greater risk of picking up viruses when the weather changes in autumn.
About 2,000 children daily have been undergoing check-ups or receiving
treatment daily at the Hanoi-based National Paediatrics Hospital
over the last few weeks – about 20 percent higher than normal,
according to doctor Nguyen Van Loc.
Most of the children
admitted to the hospital have been suffering respiratory problems,
allergies, fevers or diseases such as mumps or chicken pox, Loc said.
He said parents should send their children to hospital on the first
sign of illness. He said worrying symptoms included a high temperature
and a runny nose.
"A lot of parents treat their children
on their own. They use either out-of-date medicines or borrow
prescriptions from friends or neighbours," he said.
"When their children fail to recover they simply increase the dose, which can be dangerous," Loc said.
Recently, Nguyen Minh Hue, who lives in Dong Da district, brought her
five-year-old daughter to hospital after giving her child an old drug.
"I used the prescription the doctor gave my daughter five months ago
when she developed a cough. She had the same symptoms this time around
as well," Hue said.
When her daughter failed to get
better, she said she increased the dose. Since last being ill, she has
gained a kilo, so I thought she would need more medicine, she said.
Hue gave her daughter 4ml of an antibiotic twice a day, instead of 2ml as recommended.
After two days of taking the medicine, Hue 's daughter developed an allergy and suffered from serious diarrhoea.
"Luckily, the doctor knew what to do," she said.
Loc warned that children are particularly prone to respiratory diseases
when temperatures are high during the day and cool at night. "Children
usually recover from a simple viral infection in three to five days if
they get treatment," he said.
Nguyen Van Lam, deputy
director of the National Paediatrics Hospital 's Infection Ward,
said children should be vaccinated regularly against viral infections.
"Teachers should isolate sick children or let them stay away from
school until they are better to prevent them infecting other children,"
he said.
Teachers should also encourage children to wash their hands frequently with soap and ensure toys and teaching aids are clean./.
