Summer time blues!

Be Safe

As the summer heat reaches its peak, people find solace in fruits and fruit juices available on the streets. But if we are not careful, this eating habit may lead us to pay a visit to the nearby hospital.

One should be extremely careful as having roadside fruits or drinks may lead to water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, gastro-enteritis and typhoid. So how safe is what you eat? 

People quench their thirst during summers with juices of lemon, sweet-lime, sugarcane — all of which are readily available in the street stalls.

“I don’t prefer having these things from the roadside but sometimes it is hard to ignore the heat,” says Sadiq, a sales executive.

The summer also brings along with it fruits like watermelons and mangoes which are sold by vendors. But cut fruits and exposed food certainly attracts flies and dust.

“The weather conditions are favourable for bacterial growth and for insects and flies,” says Dr Manjunath Sharma, a general physician. And this leads to many diseases.

“Gastro-enteritis and diarrhoea cases have been there in the City since the second week of March and this happens due to contaminated water and lack of hygiene. Some of the other common diseases during summer are Hepatitis A and skin infections which happen due to the spurt of viruses,” says Dr Manjunath.

The officials are also taking precautions to avoid a major outbreak of such diseases in Bangalore.

“Chief Health Officer L T Gayatri has issued a notice instructing people to avoid eating at roadside stalls, especially cut-fruits, as they are a means of disease transmission,” says Kandre, the Public Relations Officer for BBMP.

Although the BBMP has not banned the sale of cut fruits, hawkers have been strictly instructed to sell the fruits in hygienic conditions and store them in closed boxes. There are options for people to avoid dehydration and still prevent diseases.

“There are a lot of juice centres in the City which are clean and the staff even wears gloves to avoid infection. But you should make it a point to avoid ice when consuming juice outside,” says Vritika Philipose, a software professional.  “I prefer sticking to coconut water while I am outside because it is safe to drink and is nutritious also,” says Shweta Anand, a housewife.

The best thing to do this summer is to carry packaged juices or a bottle of water. “Have a lot of water, milk and buttermilk to avoid dehydration and avoid cut fruits available on the roadside. Also clip your nails regularly. Maintaining hygiene is essential to
prevent diseases,” says Dr Manjunath.