Febrile twosome

The kids were both so sick yesterday that we decided to take them to the emergency ward of the Children's hospital after dinner. By then the OPD (out-patient dept) had closed and we didnt have the service of the best doctors, but just junior, duty doctors. The doctor said that dengue fever was doing its rounds now - we were glad we hadnt persisted with our home medications and over-the-counter drugs.

Mira had to be pricked to get some blood for tests - the nurse took her in and we could hear her howling some time later. They dont let in parents when they prick the veins of kids. Mira complained to me that the nurse 'beat' her - her only word to explain punishments. The doctor was particularly impressed when she took the anti-pyretic syrup given to bring down her temperature as if it were a glass of wine. And he said: "Such a lovely gal. I wish all kids would do that." The hospital called us up at 1.3o in the night to tell that it was not dengue, but just a mild infection that needs antibiotics to cure.

Both kids got home and had a few slices of bread at midnight. The dr had told us not to expect them to have any appetite. And today Ash refused to eat anything. He gives me this very hurt and knowledgeable look and tells me: Achacha will puke, you know. I tell him I have given him Emset to stop any puking. He doesnt relent and goes to watching Bob the Builder on Pogo. No dosa, no idli, no gruel. I try switching off the TV to blackmail him. No luck. In the end I give him his medicines over a biscuit.

I wonder why kids fall sick so often in Chennai. It must be the hot weather, the pollution... And now it is the shift from hot, humid days to the rainy, chilly weather.