A drop of nearly 12 degrees Celsius in the maximum temperature has brought back the chill in the air and has pushed the people to wear take out the woollen clothes which they had packed with the onset of summers. The sudden decrease in temperature has also raised the chances of viral and other diseases.

Apart from this there is a big difference in the maximum and minimum temperature these days and this diurnal difference in temperature which can cause the people to fall prey to the viral infections. The Physicians of the associated hospital of Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) acknowledge that the more of patients suffering from viral fever and common cold visited the OPD of the hospital on Wednesday.

The senior Physician of Doon hospital, Dr Harish Basera told The Pioneer that sudden drop in temperature would cause problems to the patients of asthma and allergy. He disclosed that such weather causes an increase of 15-20 percent in the number of viral fever cases.  The Physician said that people especially elderly should wear woollen clothes during morning and evenings to avoid catching cold. “The children and old aged are particularly more susceptible for catching cold in this transitional phase of season. It is recommended that after exercise one should be little careful and avoid immediate contact with cold air,” he said.

The physicians advice that cold water and drinks should be avoided by the people during this time of the year and once infected with cold the people should immediately consult the doctor. Many people tend to switch on the fans during the day time which according to the doctors should be avoided.

Common cold is the most common disease among humans with an average adult getting two to three infections in a year. The prevalence of this disease is more in children and old people as their immunity is low. The symptoms of the disease are sore throat, running nose, sneezing and fever.