While the country shivers in bitter cold, the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital is witnessing a large surge of burn patients. The cause of the burns lead back to the cold weather, as they are caused while people are seeking warmth in fire or boiling water, doctors said.
With the capacity of 300 patients, the burn unit is now struggling to accommodate the number of burn patients coming to the hospital for admission.
“We are dealing with more than 500 patients the last few days, which is putting enormous pressure on us. Even though the supply of free medicine has been increased, it is still difficult to cope with such a large number of patients,” said Dr Abu Faisal Md Ariful Islam Nobin, a residential surgeon of the unit.
Hospital staff said they usually treat 30-40 patients per 24 hours, which increases to around 60-70 during winter, but this year, they are getting above 100 patients a day, with 116 patients coming in just last Saturday.
Due to pressure of attending burn patients, Dr Samanta Lal Sen, chief coordinator of all Burn Units in Bangladesh, said they were forced to reduce the number of patients by sending back those with fewer emergencies.
He added that most of the patients are women and elderly people, who are more vulnerable to the cold.
Syed Rezaul Karim, 75, from Sirajganj, had burn injuries on both his legs.
“I was trying to keep myself and my son warm using a fire, when suddenly it caught on my lungi. We were able to extinguish the fire, but both my legs were burned by then,” he said. He was rushed to a local hospital and later transferred to DMCH.
But, he was not admitted as his injury was not critical.
Visiting the unit yesterday, this correspondent found a large flow of patients and their attendants in the emergency room of the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit. Doctors and nurses were seen busy treating the patients. Most patients left the hospital after primary treatment.
One of the patients at the unit, Hafiza Begum, 65, of Tangail was fighting for life with 30 percent burns.
“My mother's saree caught fire when she was trying to warm herself near the clay oven,” her son, Arshad Ali, said.
“More patients are coming to the unit compared to previous years, as the country is facing a harsher winter than before,” Samanta Lal said.
A severe to mild cold wave has been sweeping over a big part of the country, causing immense suffering.
On January 8, the country saw its lowest temperature in five decades, as the mercury dropped to 2.6 degrees Celsius in Tentulia.
“Even with limitations, we are trying our best to cope with the pressure,” he said, calling for raising awareness regarding fire related accidents, which may help reduce the number of patients.
