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Keeping late nights to catch World Cup matches may lower immunity
 ENGLAND weren’t the only ones feeling awful after they sank to Germany in the World Cup.
For England fan G N Ng, it was like a blow to the gut.
The 44-year-old business consultant was hit by stomach cramps and then vomiting and diarrhoea.
He also lost his appetite and could not eat for three to four days after the match last Sunday.
His GP gave him medical leave for two days.
“I felt very weak,” he said. “Every time I drank some water, I threw up.”
It appears that in addition to World Cup fever, gastric flu has gripped those seeking medical help and medical leave.
Of the 10 doctors TheNew Paper spoke to, nine reported an increase in the number of gastric flu cases.
Three doctors said they have seen more than double the number of gastric flu cases in the last two weeks.
Six doctors reported at least a 10 to 20 per cent increase in such cases.
All the doctors run GP clinics.
Irregular meals
Said Dr Lee Yik Voon, who runs the Lee & Tan Family Clinic And Surgery at Circuit Road: “It may be because of the eating and drinking at all sorts of funny hours that is causing this spate of gastric flu.”
He has had one or two people come in and ask for medical certificates (MCs) because they did not get enough sleep.
About 10 to 20 per cent of patients he usually sees are gastric flu cases, but this has ballooned to 40-50 per cent now.
“My guess would be that the late nights and the lack of sleep contributed to weakened immune systems. So it’s easier to catch the flu or any other illnesses,” said Dr Lee.
And because gastric flu is very infectious, he has seen men, women and children who seek medical help.
“It’s a merry-go-round. Let’s say it starts with the men. They get it because they have been staying up watching the World Cup.
“Then they pass it to their wives, who then pass it to their children. Then grandma, who is looking after the child, also gets it,” he said.
Dr Tan Kok Kuan, chief medical officer of Robertson Medical Practice, said that the practice’s two GP clinics have also seen more gastric flu cases.
“I don’t see people coming in to ask for MCs because they had been staying up late watching football,” he said.
Instead, people are coming in asking for medical help for gastric flu.
“It’s very contagious and in the Asian culture, where we share food and drinks, it is easily spread,” he said.
But he added that it is also very easy to “fake a gastric flu”.
“Maybe the wife’s got it, then the guy thinks it’s a good excuse. It is very hard for us to check how real the symptoms are.”
One of his clinics is in Robertson Walk.
“Every night, I see all these people watching football outside where there is a big screen TV. They are rather noisy,” he said.
The number of gastric flu cases in his two clinics (the other is in Jurong) has gone up from 5 per cent to 10 per cent.
One doctor, who has a clinic in Choa Chu Kang, said he saw about a 20 per cent increase in the number of gastric flu cases.
“I am not sure why this is happening. It could be that with the World Cup season, more people are staying up late and munching on all sorts of goodies or over-eating and probably also over-drinking.
“Then they catch a bug and this very easily goes around,” he said.
A Ministry of Health spokesman said that they do not keep figures on the number of gastric flu cases here.
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