More People Are Falling Sick During CNY 2023 But It’s Not Due to COVID-19

The arrival of the Year of the Rabbit has been met with much joy and laughter, with families coming together for reunion dinners, engaging in scrumptious meals lavish with our favourite CNY goodies like pineapple tarts and love letters. 

However, it is no secret that while these CNY goodies are mouth-watering and delectable, many of them can cause us to feel under the weather when eaten in immoderate amounts.

Case in point?

Situation at Different Clinics

In the days leading up to the New Year, many clinics all around Singapore have seen an increase in the number of patients, with clinics like Life Family Clinic in Choa Chu Kang facing more than two times the usual number of patients, treating a range of 150 to 180 patients daily.

A nurse at Heartland Health Clinic located at Bukit Batok Street 11 told Lianhe Zaobao journalists that there are three times as many patients over this new year’s weekend as compared to normal, and the clinic sees more than 100 patients within each window.

Interestingly, there haven’t been any evident increases in the number of COVID-19 patients over the past few days in both of these clinics, though.

If people aren’t falling sick due to COVID-19, what exactly is the reason then?

The Reason behind People Falling Sick During CNY

A nurse at Good Heart Clinic in Bukit Batok said that staying up late at night is the cause for the majority of the patients’ illnesses.

Not having a healthy sleep schedule leads to a compromised and weakened immune system, causing patients to develop upper respiratory infections.

Her claims have been backed by a 26-year-old delivery driver, who stated that in order to complete visitations over the new year, he stayed up late at night driving long distances from house to house and practically did not sleep at all.

He believes that his lack of rest compromised his immune system and hence caused him to fall sick.  

Another nurse at Life Family Clinic told Lianhe Zaobao that many patients display symptoms of diarrhoea and have been diagnosed with upper respiratory infections.

This is likely due to eating an unhealthy amount of dishes during reunion dinners that are harder to digest, such as abalone and sticky rice, or people may also fall sick from only drinking carbonated sodas and drinks

Dr John Cheng Ping Chang, a Family Physician at Healthway Medical (Novena Medical Centre), said that due to the overconsumption of delicacies, that resulted in indigestion and stomach problems.

Also, spring cleaning prior to CNY leads to backaches and muscle injuries, and it also leads to allergic reactions such as asthma, rhinitis or eczema.

People are also catching the flu from interaction with many people.

He continued on to suggest that patients in need of medical care during CNY can opt for telemedicine services instead. 

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