Ramadan 2018 : Iftar Overeating cases increases in UAE
UAE doctors are urging people to not overindulge during Iftar and Suhoor, warning that their emergency departments have seen double the number of patients since the beginning of Ramadan, due to overeating.
“We are receiving too many patients with abdominal pain, vomitting and diarrhoea in Ramadan: it is really too much now. Sometimes, we have an entire family coming in together,” said Dr Ola Nagi Ibrahim, general practitioner – Emergency Medicine, Bareen Hospital.
Dr Ibrahim said the majority of the cases received are gastroenteritis, an infection of the gut, which causes severe stomach pain, diarrhoea and vomitting.
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The department is receiving around 15 patients each day in Ramadan, double the cases received on regular days. “The majority of the cases we receive during the daytime are caused by dehydration and sunstroke, which need urgent resuscitation with IV fluids, whereas the majority of the cases we receive in the evening (post-Iftar) are related to gastroenteritis.
“People are eating too much in Ramadan and require hospital treatment.”
Dr Ibrahim said unhygienic food is also causing a rise in patients. “Food can easily be spoiled and infected in the summer. My top advice is to ensure that food is hygienic and safe to consume.”
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