These mistakes can happen when heating a room in winter, which can be fatal

Last year, many incidents of fire and suffocation outside the valley during the winter season have become public. A woman on Bhansar Road in Dhangadhi, Kailali died after a fire broke out inside her house. Last April, a pregnant woman died in Bhaktapur after suffocating after burning coal by closing windows and doors.

These are public events. Many incidents of suffocation and death in such a remote area do not make news.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, no deaths have been reported so far this year. Authority spokesperson Dr. Dijan Bhattarai informed that the NEA has not received any information about the loss of life due to suffocation or fire in the electrical equipment and fire.

But statistics show that the common mistake of burning heaters or coal to avoid the cold in winter kills dozens every year. The exact number of deaths due to suffocation in cold weather every year is not with the government. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority and the Emergency Operations Center under the Ministry of Home Affairs have stated that there is no reliable data on the number of deaths due to suffocation in a year as the death toll will also be included in the fire.

In the six incidents that became public in the fiscal year 2074/75, seven people died due to suffocation and six others were injured. Similarly, in 6 incidents recorded in 2075/76, 10 people lost their lives due to suffocation, and 6 others were injured. A total of 14 people were killed and five others were injured in eight incidents in 2076/77 BS.

In the first week of December 2073, 11 people lost their lives by suffocation in the Kathmandu Valley alone. All of these incidents have shown that in cold weather the windows and doors are closed and the fire is heated.

Authority spokesperson Dr. Bhattarai says that the number of deaths due to suffocation and fire is increasing especially in the Terai region. ‘Especially in the lowlands, it is customary to light fires by closing windows/doors to avoid winter. Those who are more likely to suffocate on the one hand are more likely to fall asleep without putting out the fire and the risk of fire is also on the rise, 'he said.

According to Bhattarai, people die of suffocation every year not only in huts and small houses but also in good hotels due to negligence.

Why do people suffocate in winter?

Doctors say carbon monoxide is the most common cause of death from suffocation. Dr. Niraj Bam, Associate Professor, and Senior Chest Disease Specialist at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj. Direct smoke emitting technologies such as coal and muck and electrical technologies such as heaters and geysers also absorb oxygen in the body. It replaces carbon monoxide by absorbing oxygen from the body's cells.

This harmful gas can cause vomiting, abnormal heartbeat, and brain damage. But since people cannot feel such symptoms while sleeping, their heart stops beating and they die. That is why we call it death by suffocation.

What can be done to prevent this?

The only way to avoid such risks is to take precautions while sleeping. Most people have this problem while sleeping or taking a bath. The bomb explains. The only way to avoid this is to take precautions. For this, doctors suggest keeping the ventilation open and not sitting near the fire while heating.

The nurse should also treat the patient emotionally

Most patients who go to the hospital have the same complaint, the doctors and nurses did not treat them well. This complaint is a common problem of both public and private hospitals. What is the effect of the behavior of doctors and nurses in the hospital on the patients who need physical, mental as well as and emotional connection? Online news interview with Pushpa Chapagain, Nursing Incharge of Upendra Devkota Memorial National Institute of Neurological Applied Sciences focusing on this topic.

It is said that patients need not only medicine and treatment but also encouragement and love. Is there such treatment in the hospital?

Of course, the patient needs not only medicine but also encouragement and love to recover quickly. When it comes to treating patients, the hospital where I work does not have any practical hassle or ill-treatment as mentioned here. We focus on emotional healing as well as medical treatment.

What kind of treatment do patients prefer from the hospital?

The great expectation of the patient's doctor is that he should be cured. Besides, they are expected to speak well, behave well, and be treated on time. As I work in the neurological sector, I expect a lot of patients to have a 'conscience' patient to treat and take care of themselves on time.

Since the relatives of the patients are not allowed to visit the patients in our hospital during the day, the entire responsibility of caring for the patients falls on the shoulders of the nurses. That is why the patient likes to be treated well by the nurse.

When hospitalized or treated, the patient has a kind of fear, apprehension. How important is it to comfort and inspire them in such a situation?

Patients who come for treatment have fears and apprehensions. In this case, it is important to look at their situation and offer comfort. We offer comfort in reducing the fear of the patient when treating or treating the patient. We comfort the patient based on their condition. But lying is not impossible in the name of comfort.

You often stay with the sick for a long time, do you talk to them about their sorrows?

That certainly happens. As I am in charge of the department, I am very busy with other work. However, the nurses who are assigned to take care of the patient, spend full time for the patient. After becoming a caring person, the patient also speaks of happiness and sorrow, we must also listen.

Friends and relatives visit the patient and often inquire about the disease. How appropriate is such behavior?

Even if we don't think it's appropriate, the patient is asking. What happened to those who came to see the sick? It is also natural to ask the nurse nearby. But we also do not tell everyone the true condition of the patient. We also have protocols. We are also not allowed to answer all the questions asked.

The patient's relatives may visit the doctor at the appointed time to inquire about the patient's condition. We do not tell everything to the patient except to give a simple answer.

They say that the poor and helpless patients are not taken care of in the hospital. Is this also the case?

That doesn't happen. Because the nurses who treat the patients sitting in that place do not know who is rich and who is poor. The money that the rich man pays is the same and the money that a poor person pays when he goes to the hospital is the same. Even if we treat the rich and the poor the same way we get paid. The hospital charges are the same. Therefore, it is not true that the behavior mentioned here is different. I can't say if it is in government hospitals. But that doesn't happen in our hospital. Sometimes working under a lot of pressure can be overwhelming. But there is no truth in class discrimination.

Dr. Upendra Devkota himself had said in an interview that four things are necessary for any person to be healthy. One physical, second mental, third spiritual, fourth social. However, medical science only treats physical and mental illnesses. Why is their emotional and social aspect not given much importance?

The first is that emotional problems or emotional aspects are not a disease in themselves. This is a social issue. There is nothing wrong with treating it. But it is definitely something that people need. The only way to solve this emotional problem is to treat it with kindness. So it's not that we don't value the emotional side. Although medical science treats physical and mental illnesses, we treat emotional relationships through sweet behavior.