More patients head to clinics

PETALING JAYA: More people are ending up at clinics to treat various ailments brought on by the heatwave.

Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah said private clinics are seeing a surge in patients by about 20% to 25% due to the hot weather.

“We are seeing more cases of fever, lethargy, body aches and skin infections.

“Especially for those with psoriasis and eczema, their skin ailment is now more severe because of the dry conditions,” he said.

Schoolchildren and the elderly, said Dr Raj Kumar, were the most affected but the hot weather has also hit an increasing number of healthy adults in their 20s to 50s.

“However, I think, currently, the situation is under control. We have alerted our members to advise patients to drink lots of water and wear light and loose clothing,” he said.

A staff nurse, who declined to be named, said more of the elderly were walking in due to illnesses such as dizziness, fatigue, disorientation and fever.

“We are also seeing many infants and small children,” said the nurse who works at a government clinic in Kuala Lumpur.

The clinic, she said, was always full, which increased the waiting time for walk-in patients.

“Every day, we have a set number of patients with appointments, such as the elderly and pregnant mothers, so walk-in patients will have to wait to be seen,” she said.

Private school teacher Fatin Nabilah Hamid, 33, has been experiencing migraine due to the extreme hot weather and had to take medical leave.

“I’ve always had migraines but it got worse with the heat and I felt nauseous. I visited a private clinic and got a medical certificate on Monday.

“There were also many people at the clinic, including children,” she said, adding that her doctor had advised her to drink more water and avoid the outdoors.

Fatin Nabilah said many of her students, who are aged 11 to 12, were also falling sick due to the hot weather.

A writer, who only wanted to be known as Candy, said her heat rash had been cropping up due to the bad weather.

As it is a condition that she’s had since young, she did not think that it was serious but admitted that it was a nuisance.

“I used to have a severe heat rash every time the weather is dry and hot. Usually, I just need to use moisturiser more often,” she said.

“It’s just that it’s been three years with La Nina and the weather then was quite cool, so I haven’t had it for some time but it’s back this year, and I am more put off by how annoying it is.”

Candy will consult a doctor should her rash worsens but so far, she has been taking precautions such as bathing and moisturising more often, drinking more water and avoiding overexposure to the sun.

As of Monday, the Health Ministry had recorded 15 cumulative cases related to the hot weather, with one confirmed death.

It also advised the public to limit their exposure to the outdoors by wearing hats or using umbrellas to reduce direct sunlight on the body.

“A heatwave is a situation where the maximum daily temperature exceeds 37°C for three consecutive days,” it said in a Facebook post yesterday.