As the city prepares itself for the food and fun that Diwali brings, a set of professionals in the city warn about the rise in illnesses. Here is what they have to say about a healthy and safe Diwali.
Diwali is a scary time for Smita Shah, a dietician. Every year, after the festival of lights, Shah braces for her patients to lose control of their body weight and glucose levels. “It is not that these people are not motivated but Diwali is such a temptation that I eventually find weight watchers gaining weight and diabetics creeping in,” said Shah. She would know, for she has been helping patients for 18 years now.
Shah also has another interesting observation to make, a rise in cases of throat infection after Diwali. “People often think it is because of the weather or something else. But what many don’t realise is that the sub-standard sweets and snacks made in poor quality oil and ingredients is often to be blamed,” said Shah.
She says even family members, who otherwise encourage weight watchers and diabetics to be careful with their diet, become a bit lenient during Diwali.
Diwali is a trying time for those who suffer from allergic bronchitis and asthma. “Patients need not shift to another place entirely during Diwali but it is better to be away from smoke and fire-cracker fumes as it aggravates the condition,” said Dr Suresh Patel, president of Ahmedabad Family Physicians’ Association.
He, however, said that over the years, the number of patients complaining of such cases had gone down. “ I think it is because of more awareness. People are more careful. They may not be able to control what others do, but those who can’t stand it, avoid it. Moreover, these days parents also encourage children to have a cracker-free Diwali,” said Dr Patel.
Dr Joozer Rangwala, internal medicine specialist at Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, agrees. According to him, Diwali-related ailments are broadly due to food, air and firecrackers.
“Of these, the sicknesses associated with food and air (in this case pollution and fire-cracker smoke) is on the decline. This is because people are aware of pitfalls of low quality food. Those with asthma and other such ailments also take precautions to ensure that their condition does not aggravate,” said Dr Rangwala.
He, however, said that not much change had been observed in the incidence of burn injury. “Overall, the cases of severe burns have gone down and people are more careful. But burn injuries continue to be reported. A lot of it is because of carelessness and reluctance to take basic precautions,” said Dr Rangwala.
Dr Mayur Patel, chairman and chief diabetologist at Swasthya Diabetes Care in the city, said that many diabetic patients have a basic misconception that avoiding sugar is enough.
“Often, people binge on sugar-free sweets assuming that it won’t bother them. But the truth is that most sweets are rich in calories and it affects diabetes patients,” said Dr Patel.
He advises them to never eat sweets on an empty stomach as it increases the probability of binge eating. He said that calorie intake of patients go up by three to four times during Diwali, which is very dangerous.
“People take a break from exercise and this affects glucose levels,” said Dr Patel.
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