PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, April 22: After a huge gap of two years, the schools in Jharkhand have started physical classes. But the scorching heat has become a huge problem for all including parents, students and school management where students are suffering due to dehydration.
Dehydration is a condition in which your body does not have the required amount of water that it needs and now with summer starting, they may end up not maintaining their hydration status due to various reasons which means that they are losing a lot more fluid than what they’re consuming and end up dehydrated.
In an interview with lagatar24.com, Dr Sunanda Jha, Paediatrician at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences Ranchi, explained, “Dehydration means abnormal loss of liquids from the system. It is caused by vomiting, loose stools and excessive sweating. Dehydration is graded into mild, moderate and severe. When the fluid input that we take in is less than the output, there’s an imbalance between what goes in and what comes out of your body.”
Dehydration is seen when there is excessive vomiting and frequent passing of watery stools and getting exposed to extremely high temperatures which can cause heatstroke also, Dr Sunanda highlighted,
“Thirsty, dry mouth and tongue, no tears when crying, no wet diapers for more than two hours, sunken eyes, cheeks, loss of skin turgor, sunken soft spot on top of skull, listlessness or irritability are some of the signs. In severe dehydration, one may start losing consciousness. Summer is the time for gastroenteritis and fever is also part of the symptoms along with vomiting and loose motion,” she said.
According to Dr Sunanda Jha, mild dehydration is treated at home with ORS. She elaborated, “When the child is drinking less or eating less, the first step is to make sure the child is drinking enough liquids. Don’t worry much about solid food. Make sure you keep giving them liquids. Water can be a good first option but it’s better to include something with sugar and salt. Mix one packet of ORS with one litre of water and keep giving it as required. There’s no specific quantity. By drinking lots of fluids we can prevent Dehydration in the summer months.”
Since dehydration is quite common and during the peak of summer, almost 30% of patients who go to doctors are for dehydration, parents need to be aware of the health condition and watch out for its symptoms.
Dr Sunanda listed the warning signs that a parent should be aware of. These include:
- When the child is excessively lethargic, tired or excessively irritable
- When the child has not passed urine for 7-8 hours.
- When there is continuous vomiting and diarrhoea it’s better if they are analysed by the paediatric team.
She advised, “Other precautions include hygienic food, proper hygiene, handwashing before eating, and handwashing after using the bathroom, especially if someone in the household has vomiting or diarrhoea. It’s important to maintain hand hygiene. It’s best to avoid eating out at places where hygiene is questionable and more importantly, parents must be aware of the signs and symptoms of severe dehydration wherein they know when to get the child to the hospital.”
