SINGAPORE: She had gone to the emergency department after falling and hitting her head. A few days later, the elderly woman was back - this time, for a fractured wrist after she fell from a stool while doing her Chinese New Year cleaning.
Another elderly woman ended up in the emergency department after she slipped and fell in a wet market.
Such falls and other ailments are expected to rise as people,
especially the elderly, rush to prepare for the festive season, said Dr
Foo Chik Loon, a consultant at the emergency department in Tan Tock
Seng Hospital (TTSH).
Last year, TTSH saw a 22-per-cent increase in stomach inflammation,
a 34-per-cent rise in asthma and a 30-per-cent jump in falls during the
Chinese New Year period. This year, it has already seen a 27-per-cent
increase in asthma cases and a 6-per-cent increase in stomach
inflammation cases.
And there is that common occurrence during reunion dinners - fish bones stuck in the throat.
Dr Foo said doctors are bracing for a surge in such cases during this period.
Reminding people to "eat in moderation", Dr Foo said after the festive
period, doctors tend to see "complications of increased food intake,
abdominal pain, constipation". For some diabetes patients, their diet
had also gone "a bit haywire", he added. For the elderly too, "with
cleaning comes dust, (so) they also tend to get more respiratory
illnesses", he noted.
But even as these ailments increase, people - especially the elderly - also tend to put off seeing the doctor.
This results in a surge in patient attendance after the festive
period, said Dr Foo. Instead of getting early treatment, patients had
allowed infections to linger, which in turn led to more severe problems
and possibly, hospitalisation, he cautioned.
- TODAY/sc