Northern Vietnam cold wave sends dozens to hospitals

A 60-year-old man in Hanoi suffered from a headache, dizziness and tingly limbs when he woke up on Tuesday morning. His family tried to treat his conditions at home but failed, so they took him to the Bach Mai Hospital. He was eventually diagnosed with a stroke.

The man was among hundreds of patients who had to be hospitalized amid the ongoing intense cold wave.

Vo Hong Khoi, director of the neurological center at the hospital, said the number of emergency hospitalizations at the stroke and neurological center has increased by 10-15% compared to last week. The neurological center in particular, which normally receives around 30-50 patients a day, has been seeing twice that number over the past three days.

At the Hanoi Heart Hospital, the number of hospitalized cases due to strokes, hypertension, and myocardial infarction, among other conditions, is also higher than usual. Hoang Van, the hospital’s vice director, said that during cold days, body temperatures may drop, forcing the heart to work harder to keep the body warm. This increases the risk of myocardial infarction among vulnerable groups, such as those with hypertension, diabetes or smokers.

People with respiratory problems are also more vulnerable to the cold. At the A9 emergency center at the Bach Mai Hospital, around 20-30 cases hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been received every day, with 10% of them requiring ventilation.

Besides elderly people and those with underlying conditions, young people should also be wary of the cold as low temperatures can paralyze certain nerves, said Doan Van Phuc, vice director of the Duc Giang general hospital. The hospital has been receiving around 3-5 patients with their No.7 nerves paralyzed each day, with two-thirds of them being young people, he added.

The Ministry of Health has been instructing people, especially the elderly, children, pregnant women and those with underlying conditions to be wary of the cold. They should avoid going out when temperatures are low, especially between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Hospitals have been deploying measures against the cold as well, including installing heaters and ensuring areas of the hospitals are well-insulated.

Most northern Vietnam localities recorded temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning, with certain mountainous areas seeing ice and frost, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. Temperatures in Red River Delta localities have typically hovered around 9-10 degrees.

The most intense period of the ongoing cold wave is expected to persist in northern and north-central Vietnam until Jan. 25.