Dr Rajath Athreya Profile picture
Aug 22, 2022 9 tweets 6 min read Read on X
#FeversInChildren

Since schools opened he’s constantly unwell
Is it normal for kids to get fevers every week?
There must be something you can give to boost her immunity?
He always has this cold,the cough hasn’t left him

We’re swimming high tides of cough, cold and fevers
1/n
#KidsSickTooOften

Paediatricians across the country are running busiest of OPDs, juggling bed availability in wards and PICUs and even falling sick themselves more than ever before
Parents are at their wits end
Classrooms are half empty on some days 2/n Image
#RespiratoryViruses like #RSV, rhino, #influenza, parainfluenza,
human metapneumo, boca,coronavirus,adeno, enterovirus and #bacteria like strep pneumoniae, pertussis, haemophilus, mycoplasma etc were in constant low level circulation or saw seasonal outbreaks but now.. 3/n Image
#WeWereInAProtectiveBubble
Reduced human to human contact during lockdowns, school closures, masking and other covid protective measures (NPI - non pharmacological interventions) which crucially saved lives and tamed the pandemic had kept them out of circuit for a long time 4/n
Children’s immune systems have never met them up close and thus haven’t been schooled to ward them off
The floodgates opened up when we returned to ‘normalcy’ and went back to schools. The current surge is being seen as a #payoff time of this #ImmunityDebt 5/n Image
From New Zealand to Japan, from France to India there are reports of unusual or unseasonal surges of respiratory viral and bacterial infections in kids that are testing healthcare systems
The #hygienehypothesis is also at play may see increase in allergies and asthma too 6/n ImageImage
What can be done?
1.Continue to follow precautions like masking and hand hygiene
2.Keep schools open, have kids return to classes as soon as they are able to
3.Schools need to plan for absences and bridge the gaps
4.Catch up on any missed out routine vaccines 7/n
5.Understand danger signs and seek medical attention
6.Weather it out, we are in unprecedented times. We are still understanding the changed dynamics and maybe wiser in months to come 8/n
Recurrent #Fever and frequent illness in children over last few months: There is nothing terribly wrong with your child, their immune system is having a crash course and will hopefully get out of that revolving door soon!
n/n

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More from @DrRajathAthreya

May 11
📍Our perception of #Health and Disease is filled with myths and if you put #Diet into this equation, you spawn an entire mythology, fake expertise, scare mongering, businesses, and needless deprivation of joys of just enjoying your food
1/n
📍These #myths are culturally so deeply ingrained in India, even qualified doctors and nutritionists perpetuate them, even depriving kids of ice creams and fruits they crave for by irrational prescriptive diets
Although a tough nut to crack, I will try to shatter these myths 👇
📍Cold foods or cool drinks ≠ coughs and colds:
Coughs, colds are usually viral illness or respiratory allergies. Chilled juice or icecream does not make you catch a cold. Neither does avoiding them help you recover faster. Warm liquids soothe your throat but they don’t ‘heal’
Read 13 tweets
May 1
#COVID19 #covishieldvaccine #Covishield #AstraZeneca

Few points

📍#Covid_19 was an unprecedented global medical crisis

📍 Highly infectious, it resulted in a global pandemic in no time
📍Range of severity was asymptomatic to critical illness, death, long covid and worsening of diseases native to the patient

📍Globally Healthcare capacity was overwhelmed. This resulted in deaths, societal crisis and economic impact
📍Global efforts in creating and testing, manufacturing and distribution of vaccines was impressive and unprecedented

📍COVID 19 infection per se increased the risk of #Clotting in large blood vessels (veins) and in small ones (microvasculature)
Read 11 tweets
Dec 8, 2023
In the wake of IPC issuing alert on potential adverse effects of #MefenamicAcid, should parents worry about using #Meftal syrups to treat #Fever in #Children?
Let us understand more about Fevers in children and Mefenamic acid.
A thread
via @indiatodayindiatoday.in/india/story/pa…
What causes fevers?

Fever is body’s response to an infection. In children, it is most commonly due to viral infections. Rarely fevers have a non infectious inflammatory cause. Image
Fever in a child, what to do?

Most childhood fevers due to viral infections are self limiting (lasting a few days) needing simple medications and measures to keep the child comfortable : paracetamol, light clothing and hydration with fluids. Image
Read 14 tweets
Jan 3, 2023
#ChildhoodAsthma and wheezing a 🧵

Childhood atopic asthma (cough, wheezing, breathlessness) is all too common
Stigma attached is doubly so, myths associated with inhalers and spacers is strongly ingrained, perpetuated acquiesced even by a proportion of paediatricians https://m.timesofindia.com/city/nagpur/asthma-still-a-social
What happens in asthma?
Due to a viral or environmental trigger (pollen etc) the child develops reaction in his airways: smaller breathing tubes (bronchioles)in lungs constrict (muscle around them tighten) + smooth lining of these tubes become swollen and produce sticky mucus PC: Asthma initiative of Michigan
What are the symptoms of #asthma in a child?
Tightness of chest, fast breathing, shortness of breath, severe fatigue with cough when severe
Milder symptoms could be troublesome cough in sleep, on running around or a cough that follows common cold and doesn’t get better easily
Read 12 tweets
Jul 29, 2022
#monkeypox
1. Simply put, a milder version of smallpox, caused by a virus of the same family
2. Was endemic (low level regular occurrence) in some African countries, we now have a global spread but no known epidemiological source
3. Self limiting illness with low CFR (3-6%) PC: Wikipedia
4. Illness can last 2-4 wk, could be more severe in kids and rare complications include eye scarring, secondary infections & pneumonia
5. Although contagious, intimate & prolonged contact with infected person or contact with body fluids directly or from linen etc is needed
6. A person can be contagious 1-2 days prior to developing rashes until all skin rashes have scabbed off
7. Prodrome (0-5 day period leading up to rashes) of fever, swollen glands, chills, sweats, muscle aches, sore throat and severe fatigue is seen
Read 6 tweets
Jan 30, 2022
#AntimicrobialResistance is a manmade disaster.
It is amongst the top 10 public health threats facing Humanity.
Available data analysed (for 2019)
4.95 M Deaths
189 M Years of Life lost
thelancet.com/journals/lance…
1/n
Global burden of the disease due to AMR is huge, highest in Africa and South Asia
2/n
MRSA, Cephalosporin resistant E coli, Klebsiella are highly prevalent and Pan drug and XDR superbugs are fast emerging
3/n
Read 7 tweets

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