Ranchi: Cases of cold, cough, sore throat, allergy, are seeing a rise at outpatient departments (OPDs) of govt and private hospitals.Earlier, daily OPD cases related to cold, cough and allergy at Bhagwan Mahavir Manipal Hospitals ranged between one and five, while around 30 to 40 such cases were being registered on a daily basis at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, hospital sources said.Medical experts attributedit to the prevailing weather conditions, including cool and breezy mornings and evenings and fluctuating temperatures.At Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims), doctors said around 50% daily cases at OPD currently are related to cold, cough and allergy complaints.Associate professor at department of general medicine, Rims, Dr Gagan Gunjan, said, “Nearly half of the OPD cases we are seeing daily are related to cold, cough and allergy symptoms, which are common during periods of fluctuating temperatures.”At Sadar Hospital, Ranchi, around 20 patients with cold and cough-related complaints are being registered at the OPD, hospital sources said.Civil surgeon Dr Prabhat Kumar said, “Patients belonging to age groups are reporting to the OPD with complaints of cold, cough, sore throat and allergies on a daily basis, mostly linked to the fluctuating weather conditions.”Private hospitals are also witnessing a similar trend. Around 10 to 15 cold, cough and allergy-related cases are being registered daily at Bhagwan Mahavir Manipal Hospitals.Dr Nidhi Jha said, “There has been a recent surge in patients affected by seasonal changes. Common symptoms include cough, expectoration, headache and noticeable changes in laboratory parameters related to metabolic syndromes.”Bhawna Kumari, a resident of Doranda, said, “The cough first affected my two-year-old daughter, and spread to all members of our family within a few days.”
