India, July 27 -- Monsoon is the season in which an increasing number of people feel under the weather. In an interaction with HT Lifestyle, internal medicine expert Dr RR Dutta shared that the hospitals see a familiar pattern at this time.

Patients often seek medical care only after two or three days of persistent fever, having relied on paracetamol and home remedies in the hope that it would subside on its own. While many viral fevers do resolve without complications, delaying medical evaluation can carry great risks.

It is the season in which diseases such as dengue, malaria and water-borne infections are on the rise. The first 72 hours after symptoms appear are not a waiting period. As per Dr Dutta, "They are a diagnostic window, an...