A 72-year-old resident of Kasba in south Kolkata who was waiting for his car in front of Acropolis Mall a couple of days back suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed.
“My driver came and picked me up. I was unable to speak properly,” said the man. He was taken to a doctor who found his blood pressure and other vital parameters normal.
“The doctor said I had collapsed because of the exposure to the heat,” he said.
The ongoing spell of excruciating heat is taking a toll on hundreds of Kolkatans, who are suffering from fever, stomach disorder and other problems.
But it is the elderly people who are suffering from the heat torment the most, doctors said.
Many people, in their 60s and 70s, are being admitted to hospitals with symptoms such as drowsiness, confusion and urinary tract infection. Doctors said the condition of some of them is turning critical.
Many elderly people have told doctors that they are not going to their neighbourhood parks for a walk fearing heat stroke.
“Not just the extreme heat outdoors, the abnormally high temperature and discomfort inside the house are also responsible for so many elderly people falling sick. Many homes do not have ACs and many aged people do not turn on ACs fearing they will catch a cold,” a doctor said.
The elderly people are needing medical care at home, too.
Apollo HomeCare, a home healthcare service provider, has been getting many phone calls from family members of elderly people across the city.
“Usually, we get 10 to 12 calls every day on an average for doctor visits at home. For the last few days, we are getting more than 20 calls a day and 99 per cent of the calls are from families of people above 60,” said an official at Apollo HomeCare, Kolkata.
Doctors said those with comorbidities are more vulnerable.
“Elderly people suffering from comorbidities like cardiac ailments, chronic renal disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are more vulnerable to such heat. Many of these people are on diuretic medicines (that help move extra water and salt from the body) which keep them dehydrated. The heat is making them more dehydrated,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, infectious disease expert at Peerless Hospital.
“Dehydration is the root cause of the illnesses they are suffering from now, such as sodium-potassium imbalance, which causes drowsiness and confusion among patients. Also, they are suffering from urinary tract infection because the dehydration has reduced the flow of urine, which causes infection,” he said.
High fever and gastrointestinal disorder are among the other problems, Bhattacharya said.
Three such patients were admitted to the hospital on Tuesday and had to be shifted to the intensive care unit, he said.
“Many of them are not directly exposed to the sun, but the temperature inside the home is abnormally high, too. Avoiding exposure to heat is important. Family members should be more watchful now and look for early symptoms and immediately contact a doctor,” he said.
According to Bhattacharya, the elderly people who have restrictions on fluid intake should hydrate themselves according to the doctor’s advice.
Sauren Panja, head of critical care and medicine at RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, said many patients have their basic diagnostic reports normal but are still falling ill.
“I examined a 75-year-old man on Tuesday. He was in a confused and disoriented state. His reports were normal, so it is obvious he suffered exhaustion because of heat,” said Panja.
“Most of the elderly patients in the OPD are running a temperature and complaining of severe weakness even after a short walk. The medical parameters are all in the normal range. Obviously, the symptoms are triggered by heat.”
