Kindly help with my mother's fever and constipation.

Question

Hi doctor,

My mother aged 70 years has been suffering from sore throat and fever for the last three days. The fever is not very high and it is around 100.5 degree Fahrenheit. She is taking Crocin for the same. She had slightly low platelet count around 1.38*10^3/microliter of blood as of yesterday morning. To give background, my father just recovered from a similar fever and his platelet count had dropped to around 78,000 and his fever got subsided in five days. But, the main problem my mother facing is that she is not passing stools since last four to five days. She normally has this problem, but it has been aggravated during fever. She has a previous history of constipation and takes some herbal medicine like Triphala. She also suffers from high BP and for which she takes Olvance 20 one tablet daily and her BP remains under control. Please suggest any safe laxative for her age and current condition of fever.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Since you are giving a history of your father suffering from same complaints with low platelet, generally this could be a viral infection probably dengue.
I would suggest you to look for any bleeding tendency or rashes over the body. Get her platelets checked on alternate days or everyday as there is a chance of reduction in platelet count in dengue. But, once it is above 1 lakh, then it is safe.
Continue giving Paracetamol every four to six hours interval, so that fever is under control. Also, give plenty of fluids.
Coming to the problem of constipation, it is a common problem in elderly people. Diet modification is the best way to cope up with constipation means you need to add vegetables and whole wheat roti (Indian bread) in her diet along with whole fruits.
For support we can use laxatives as you have asked. I suggest laxative like Cremaffin or Duphalac (Lactulose) at bedtime, but do not make it a habit of using laxatives regularly and try to change the diet. Consult your doctor, discuss with him or her and take the treatment with consent.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Regarding the dosage of laxative, one spoon in the morning and two spoons at bedtime for five to seven days along with diet modification.
Regarding the platelet levels, just get it checked. If it is above 100*10^3 per microliter of blood, then need not worry. If it is below 100*10^3 per microliter of blood, then you should be careful and watch for any bleeding tendency. Once it crosses 150*10^3 per microliter of blood, then it is safe.