But last week, the unusually cold weather in Mumbai made my arthritis worse,” she said. Disillusioned with the warmth of Mumbai, Thakkar is now on painkillers.
Mumbai’s moderate cold lures outsiders with severe orthopedic problems
Jayashree Thakkar, 63, a retired banker comes to Mumbai every winter to stay with her son and his family. “The idea is to escape Delhi’s extreme cold, which aggravates my bad knees.
But last week, the unusually cold weather in Mumbai made my arthritis worse,” she said. Disillusioned with the warmth of Mumbai, Thakkar is now on painkillers.
The week-long cold spell, with temperatures dipping to 10.2 degree Celsius, sent people flocking to doctors. “Many of those taken ill are out-of-towners,” said Dr Hemant Gupta, consultant physician, Bombay Hospital. “At least 10 per cent of my patients have come to the city from the North to avoid the vicious winter there. They have complaints like asthma, arthritis and joint pain, which are aggravated by extreme cold.”
For these patients - most of them elderlies - Mumbai and cities in South India are ideal places to spend the winter. Dr PV Vaidyanathan, a Chembur-based physician, said that he knew several retired parents who visited their children residing in the city every winter. “But this time, Mumbai winter has been harsh on them,” he said.
Mumbaikars - both young and old - are also suffering. “We are acclimatised to a particular temperature. When it takes a steep plunge, illnesses crop up,” said Dr Vasant Nagvekar, consultant physician, Lilavati Hospital. “Upper respiratory tract infections, rhinitis and throat pain are the most common of these diseases.”
“Each virus requires a particular temperature to get activated. Some viruses thrive at 15 degree Celsius, while there are others which are unleashed at 10 degree. Currently, we are combating viruses which are not common to Mumbai,” said Dr Vaidyanathan.
According to him, this trend has been there for the past two-three years.
Dr SN Acharya, another physician, blamed the rise in winter illnesses on the changed weather pattern. “Earlier, the monsoon used to set in by June. Now, we have to wait almost till August for the rains to begin. This in turn delays the onset of winter, which begins post December,” he said.
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