Srinagar: Despite COVID-19 cases on decline, pneumonia has yet again shown an upward trend in Kashmir as winter sets-in.
As per the official records, the Chest Disease (CD) Hospital in Srinagar is reporting over 150 pneumonia cases every month.
Of the 150 cases, the hospital registers over five cases of pneumonia every day. Similarly, at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, 24 patients with pneumonia are admitted. Prof Naveed Nazir, Head of the Department at CD Hospital told Greater Kashmir that pneumonia cases had increased post COVID-19 but people need not panic and take precautions this winter.
“During COVID-19, pneumonia was quite prevalent but post COVID-19, we have seen a surge in the number of the cases. Nowadays, pneumonia is mostly found among the adults in Kashmir. The cases of pneumonia are mostly increasing during the winter season, but this year, there was a steep rise during summer season as well,” he said.
Dr Nazir said that the hospital registered a large number of pneumonia cases in the previous months as well.
“People need to take precautions during winter. Those who have different lung diseases need to take extra precautions like vaccinations, proper diet and medicines. Patients develop exacerbations during winter. They should consult their doctors for the treatment to avoid lung infections this winter,” he said.
According to the doctors, winters can be a challenging time for the people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other chest diseases.
Dr Mir Faisal, a Kashmir-based pulmonologist told Greater Kashmir that pneumonia cases surge during the winter.
“People who are at high risk of developing pneumonia or have lung infection, especially elderly patients above 55 should go for pneumococcal vaccine. People with respiratory ailments should also avoid refrigerated food,” he said.
The doctors also advised the people to be physically active, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food, sleep properly, and take less stress.
According to the officials at the CD Hospital, some patients have COVID-induced pneumonia while others have mild fever or mild symptoms, and some are asymptomatic.
They said that unvaccinated people and elderly patients including people with comorbidities had developed complications.
Pneumonia is the filling up of lungs with fluid, which is normally filled with air.
It may be the result of infection (bacterial, viral, or fungal) or other diseases like toxic gas inhalation. Pneumonia is easily diagnosed by a chest X-ray or a CT scan.