Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: More doctors have been put on emergency nightshift duty to cope with the rising number of people falling sick after eating too much.
Health experts in Oman have advised people not to over indulge at Iftar during the Holy Month of Ramadan, but many tend to overeat in between Iftar and Suhoor which makes them sick.
Get your essential daily briefing delivered direct to your email inbox with our e-newsletter
“We have deployed more doctors on duty at the emergency department and more staff after Iftar,” said Dr Basheer, who is senior internist and diabetologist at Badr Al Sama Hospital in Ruwi.
Debraj Sanyal, Group Chief Operating Officer, Apollo Hospital, Muscat, said they have changed their clinic timings from 6.30pm to 10.30pm as most of the patients tend to come in the evenings.
“Besides that we are also calling more doctors at night to the emergency department when required,” he told Times of Oman on Sunday.
Doctors at Atlas Hospital, Ruwi also said that they are seeing an increase in people seeking medical help during Ramadan compared to last year.
Dr Munnv Zain Muneer, a general practitioner at the Atlas Hospital, said at night the hospital was treating mostly people who had been fasting and had eaten too much food and were in pain. “But during the day, we are getting adults who are seeking help for heat-related complaints,” Muneer said.
Dr Muneer warned against eating salty junk and fried foods after fasting because they could lead to severe stomach pains.
On average, three patients are treated every night during Ramadan at Atlas Hospital alone.
Although there were no reports of fatalities the hospital was in the process of recruiting specialist doctors to deal with problems related to fasting and heat exhaustion. Dr Basheer also said most of the patients are suffering from throat infections and constipation after eating too much. “I am seeing around five to six cases per day,” he said.
With some residents choosing to eat large quantities of fast food, fizzy drinks and sugary snacks once they’ve broken their fast and well into the early hours of the morning, doctors are seeing a sharp increase in the number of cases which feature symptoms that are caused because of binge eating.
“In the entire month of Ramadan, I receive about 250 patients who complain about all sorts of digestive disorders,” said Dr. Basheer.
“We see many people who complain about indigestion, constipation, low or high blood sugar level, gastritis and so many other problems related to faulty diets. I have already received about five or six patients a day, since it began. They complain about burning in their digestive tracts, gastritis and even vomiting.”
Basheer advised people in the Sultanate not to overdo it during the Holy Month, and said it was always better to eat healthily and in moderation, and create a diet chart. “The reason people choose to eat so much at night during Ramadan is because they’ve been fasting all day, and they often overdo it because they are so hungry,” he said.
“They do this because they are not aware of the harmful effects it can have on their health. If you already have a pre-existing condition for example, you could end up aggravating that even further, and this could lead to issues such as hypertension and heart disease. Most of the people I meet eat heavy meals and plenty of fried items such as French Fries and pakora so these should be stopped.”
“I’ve had cases of diabetics who, in their hurry to satisfy their hunger, will eat something sweet without thinking of the consequences,” added Basheer.
“They then come to me suffering from the effects of extremely high blood sugar levels, because their body cannot process sugar.”
Dr. Shafiur Rahman is a Professor at the Sultan Qaboos University’s Department of Agriculture and Food Sciences. He too advised people not to throw caution to the winds, once they’ve broken their fast.
“The reason there are so many restaurants that are open late in the night is because they know people will come to them craving satiety,” he revealed.
“But eating a lot of junk food is not the answer here. Just because you eat a lot of food doesn’t mean you will become more satisfied. A lot of the times, there is a mental urge from people to seek out junk food because they are looking for immediate satisfaction.
“What you should ideally do is drink some fruit juice and have something light once you have broken your fast, and then eat light food in moderation every four hours,” added Rahman.
“If you eat so much food, your organs will suffer because you have been fasting all day and the body is trying to conserve resources. To give it so much food to process will have a very adverse effect on the body.”
Keeping with this tone, Oman’s Public Authority for Consumer Protection also issued advice during the Holy Month.
“All consumers are advised not to buy large quantities of consumer goods, which may lead to depletion of goods in some outlets,” said Hilal bin Saud Al Ismaili, director of market regulation at PACP.
“We also coordinate with shops to provide a ‘Ramadan basket’ for residents, which contains many important goods, at an affordable price for consumers,” he added.
