Hundreds treated for gastric trouble

Around 620 people went to the emergency unit of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar in 12 hours on the second day of Eid Al Fitr. Most of the cases were stomach upsets caused by overeating and heavy intake of sweets and fatty food while some cases of renal colic, a urinary tract disease caused by limited intake of water, were also reported. The cases were reported to the accident and emergency unit of HMC between 6am and 6pm, Qatari daily The Peninsula said. Eid Al Fitr marks the end of Ramadan during which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and engaging in sensual pleasures from sunrise until sunset. However, during the feast, families tend to indulge in sweets One Asian died from cardiac failure in one of a dozen-odd heart ailments reported to the unit while six cases involved simple injuries, two were related to falls and four were related to car accidents. However, the vast majority of the people who went or were taken to the emergency unit complained of stomach upsets and many of them were diagnosed with gastroenteritis. Doctors said stomach upsets were caused by eating large amounts of fatty food and sweets. The pediatric emergency in Al Sadd also reported a rise in the number of cases with sources saying most of these related to stomach upsets, bronchitis and asthma. Overeating and eating a lot of sweets and fatty food were the main cause of stomach upsets among children, and doctors renewed their warnings that parents must not buy outside food for children, a major cause of diarrhea. Children suffered bronchitis and asthma, due mainly exposure to heat and dust, doctors said. The change of weather for families returning from their vacations was also cited as a major reason for children suffer from bronchitis and asthma. "The weather in the countries they are returning from is different from that of Qatar's," the daily said.