With Ahmedabad recording poor air quality due to rise in pollution, smog and difference between day and night temperature, the city is experiencing a rise in infections, allergies, and respiratory illnesses cases.
The city has also recorded an increase in the sale of medicines for infections and allergies last month.
According to data released by Pharmarack, the sale of anti-infectives and medicines for respiratory illnesses went up by an average 20% in this October compared to last October.
Antibiotics and medicines for respiratory illness are most commonly administered drugs to treat these symptoms and as a result, their overall sales are going up.
The data shows that in Gujarat, the moving annual turnover (MAT) for anti-infectives stood at Rs 861 crore and that for drugs for treating respiratory illnesses was Rs 555 crore in October 2023. MAT reflects sales for a 12-month period calculated on a monthly rolling basis.
According to medical practitioners, changing weather is one of the main reasons for a spike in these infections. “From October to February when we see the season changing and peak wintertime setting in, the overall cases of upper respiratory infections as well as other viral infections including cold, cough and flu are typically on the rise.
The rise in drug sales is also attributed to reckless consumption of antibiotics and anti-isthamines over the counter by people without prescriptions, according to chemists and druggists.
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