MAY God save the kids

Ahmedabad | May 23, 2024 | 12 min read

MAY God save the kids

Since the second week of May, doctors at Medicity have been seeing at least three newborns with dehydration per day with at least one of them requiring dialysis. GMERS Sola MCH has seen 10 moderate to severe patients admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  Ahmedabad has reported day temperatures of 44-45 degrees Celsius since the last two weeks. Even the nights are getting warmer with minimum temperatures hovering around 30-31°C. Major hospitals have seen an influx of newborns with dehydration. These summer-born children, depending on the condition in which they reach the hands of paediatricians, require fluid resuscitation in best of cases to dialysis and ventilator support in worst case scenarios. ​​​​​​​ Dr Nehal Patel, HoD of Paediatrics at GMERS Sola MCH said, “Those who come early can be treated and sent back home in 2-3 days. Lack of awareness about dehydration means that we have seen newborns with high grade fever and even convulsions. We also have patients with Intraventricular hemorrhage (brain bleed) in the NICU.” Doctors say that Grade 3 IVH or Germinal Matrix Haemorrhage can even lead to brain death. Rush of dehydrated newborns AMC-run LG Hospital is seeing 5-7 newborns admitted per day with heat-related illnesses in May. Shardaben Hospital has seen 9 newborns with Hypernatremia (electrolyte imbalance) in the last three days. These children were between 2 days and 11 days old. Dr Kinnari Vala, HoD of Paediatric Nephrology at IKDRC, said, “We have seen perfectly healthy children with birth weights of 3.5 kg, losing 1 kg or 33% body weight due to dehydration. In severe cases, the loss of body fluid can lead to veins shrivelling and causing necrosis or rotting of outer digits like fingers or toes because the body tries to give first preference to vital organs.” Symptoms and solutions “A perfectly healthy child crying incessantly is a sign of distress and parents must be taught to notice this,” said Dr Vala. However, doctors agree the lack of breastfeeding, lactation and early motherhood education to first time mothers, remain problematic. Newborns must be fed every 1.5 to 2 hours in summer and the child should urinate 10-12 times per day. Long-term problems Doctors said that newborns can be saved as long as the damage to blood vessels doesn’t reach critical stages. In such circumstances, even if the child does survive, long term consequences - some irreversible - would be imminent. These include renal failure, neurological ailments like impaired brain function and loss of peripheral digits. Protecting kids in hot homes Most people are not aware of how high temperatures inside the house can also cause dehydration. Dr Abid Vijapara, Paediatric HoD at LG Hospital said, “Parents can use a mosquito net covered with wet cloths with which the ambient temperature around the child can go down by 2 degrees, which is a great relief.”

Fake currency printing factory busted in Surat

Ahmedabad | May 23, 2024 | 6 min read

Fake currency printing factory busted in Surat

The Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Surat Police unearthed a fake currency printing factory operating under the guise of a weekly newspaper and news channel in the Limbayat area. The cops have arrested three people in the case and seized fake currency worth Rs 9.36 lakh.  Cops nabbed Firoz Supdu Shah (46), Babulal Gangaram Kapasia (41), and Safiq Khan Ismail Khan (53), during a raid on their office, which housed a mini-factory for printing fake Indian currency. Police also seized fake currency worth Rs 9,36,100, and 3,110 sheets of paper on which the fake currency was to be printed. A colour printer, two cutter machines, and other things were seized also during the operation. ​​​​​​​ A probe revealed that Firoz had a previous record of arrest in connection with a similar case in Jharkhand nine years ago. Police Inspector AP Chaudhari said they set up a watch on the accused and various teams of police did a recce of the news channel’s office for two months. “Cops disguised as vegetable and fruit vendors, cloth vendors and roadside snack merchants. After two months of investigation, the SOG team arrested the accused after verifying the information,” said Chaudhari.  Learning from YouTube  Babulal Kapasia and Safiq Khan, residents of Madhya Pradesh, met Firoz and introduced him to the concept of printing fake currency notes. Initially, the accused were confused about the execution of their plan but later relied on YouTube videos to learn and improvise.

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