​Boy in hospital after heat stroke

MUMBAI: An 11-year-old boy from Ulhasnagar landed up in a Mulund hospital after suffering from heat stroke that his local doctor failed to diagnose. Udit Punwani started feeling giddy and having double vision before he became unconscious and fell down at his home.
His parents panicked and rushed him to a hospital in Ulhasnagar, where they administered him anti-malarial drugs.By this time his temperature had shot above 100 degrees F. When his condition showed no improvement, they shifted him to Platinum Hospital, Mulund. Hospital director Dr Bijoy Kutty said that Udit required hospitalization for three days and was discharged last Saturday. The boy was kept in an AC room and administered anti-allergy medications.
“The patient probably suffered a stroke due to exertion in the sun. Children tend to come back from school and step out to play again in the sun without hydrating themselves properly,” said Kutty. He added that many centres may misdiagnose heatstroke as such cases are not common for the city and even suburbs. A heat stroke occurs when the temperature regulatory mec-hanism of the body is thrown out of gear
The mercury has been breaching the 35 degree Celsius mark almost everyday. Consultant physician Dr Pratik Samdani said patients with fever or gastroenteritis also get dehydrated very fast. He said people must drink lots of fluids but avoid water from unhealthy sources.