Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

It seems like a lot of people have been getting sick lately. My daughter has already missed two days in school due to high fever, colds and cough. My husband has also been infected with cough and colds. Even I caught a cold.

The other night we went to the clinic to have Xiane checked because we were getting a little concerned with her high fever that just kept coming back. It was such a relief when the pediatrician told us that she was just a bit congested but there was no sign of any bacterial infection of some sort. We were told that a paracetamol, decongestant and a drink of warm water will make her alright.

The next day, Tian went to see a doctor. He actually wanted to take the day off and was hoping that after having a check up the doctor the doctor would advise him to go home. Much to his disappointment, he wasn’t sent home even if he really felt sick. He was just given a couple of medicines for his cough and colds.

The same day I also had to go to the clinic but for another reason. Anyway, while I was there in queue at the pharmacy, I could see that most of the patients, mostly Qataris are getting medicines for upper respiratory tract infection (colds, cough, tonsillitis, etc.). There was Panadol, cough syrup, cold tablets, lozenges and even mouth wash.

So what’s in the air lately that’s making people sick? It must be the change in weather especially with the upcoming change in season. Although the degree of heat and humidity has decreased significantly, the heat during the day and the cold airconditioning unit could have an adverse effect on us, thus making us sick. Moreover, I also think that since it is Ramadan, fasting has weakened people’s defenses against certain ailments. But at least, with the coming cold season, we’ll be expecting a much more stable weather condition and with Ramadan on its last week, people will be back to their regular eating habits, which will hopefully help lessen the occurrence and recurrence of cough, colds and others.