With end of year parties, patients go to PS to vent

Your son runs around the kitchen wanting to help prepare that famous recipe, and you quickly put the handles of the pans in the side and notice that the oven is hot. After the scare, you wipe the sweat on your face and complain about the heat. Remember, then, that you are going to take advantage of the high temperatures soon, when you are at the beach. Here’s the beginning of a story that could end up in the emergency room.

The combination of school holidays, year-end festivities and climate change alters attendance at health units in December and January. There are more occurrences of drowning, burns, gastrointestinal disorders and trauma. There is also a growing demand related to psychiatric illnesses.

“It is a period full of symbolism, the emotional charge is great and we see an increase in the number of patients who come to the emergency room due to emotional conditions. Often, they come just to talk, to vent. They are middle-aged or older people with depression because, for example, they were not visited by relatives throughout the year”, says Claudio Isaac, coordinator of the adult emergency room at Hospital Leforte Liberdade, in São Paulo.

Cases of depression also become more frequent at this time in the emergency rooms of the Mater Dei Network, in Minas Gerais, and require a different perspective from the teams.

“People have an excess, like alcohol abuse, and think it’s because of the parties, but a deeper investigation may reveal that the episode is related to a psychological disorder”, says the network’s medical director, Felipe Salvador Liguori.

The problem is that, in the emergency room, contact is much faster and more superficial than in consultations, and it is difficult to investigate the causes of emotional complaints. “The patient comes looking for a welcome that many times we are not able to give because of the dynamics of the emergency room”, says Isaac.

The same can occur in situations such as panic attacks. The person arrives at the site with chest pain and shortness of breath, and doctors check the possibility of a heart attack. Excluding this hypothesis, there is no structure to determine what caused the nuisance.

In these cases, there are two possible paths: hospitalization to deepen the investigation, making interconsultation with other specialties to confirm the diagnosis, or forwarding for outpatient investigation with the psychiatrist.

Doctors have also observed an increase in respiratory cases with suspected Covid-19 and, in Minas Gerais, more patients with dengue. “We serve regions where dengue fever prevails. With the rainy season, from December to February we noticed an increase in demand”, says Ligório.

At Cristo Redentor Hospital, in Porto Alegre, it is a time when the number of drowning-related consultations is growing, according to Francisco Zancan Paz, technical director of Grupo Hospitalar Conceição.

The same occurs in Minas Gerais, echoing what was observed by the Brazilian Society of Aquatic Rescue in the country. According to the entity, 45% of drownings occur from December to March. In 2020 alone, 5,818 Brazilians drowned, with 70% of cases in rivers and dams.

The period of holidays and festivals is also characterized by more accidents with burns, either by fireworks or domestic accidents. “It is a period in which children spend more time indoors and it is important to observe the safety of the environment, such as avoiding leaving them near the stove and putting the pot handles inside”, Ligório guides.

In case of any type of burn, the recommendation is to wash the wound with running water and not apply any other type of material without consulting the medical team. “In the emergency room, the treatment will be directed according to the type of burn”, he says.

Doctors also highlight the higher occurrence of cases of diarrhea, associated both with the circulation of rotavirus at this time of year and with exaggeration at parties. “The foods we prepare at this time are from winter in cold countries. They are seeds, dried fruits and fatty foods that we do not eat throughout the year and during this period we eat a lot. This facilitates gastroenterocolitis”, observes Isaac.

In addition, many people change their eating routine while traveling, and exposure to new types of cuisine and food prepared without hygiene care can lead to poisoning and infectious conditions. To avoid the problem, experts recommend checking how the products are handled and, in the case of people with food intolerance, always checking the list of ingredients.

Another fundamental aspect is to keep the body constantly hydrated. Going hours without peeing, feeling dry mouth, dry skin and eyes and greater fatigue are signs that it’s past time to drink water.

Finally, doctors remember that exaggerations in the “summer project”, in which people intensify diets and physical exercises to stay in shape, also tend to end up in the emergency room.

“The person is not used to having an intense period of activity and ends up causing an injury. We also receive cases of major trauma, due to accidents in waterfalls and bicycle rides with people not used to hiking. There is imprudence for not observing and not respecting the sporting or radical limit”, points out Ligório.