HYDERABAD: Doctors working at government hospitals flagged an alarming possibility: more number of people in the State are developing chronic kidney diseases, or worse, kidney failure due to abuse of painkillers.
Having got used to regular dose of analgesics (painkillers) for minor aliments such as joint pains, body aches, people are visiting government hospitals and health centres insisting doctors to administer analgesic injections-whose abuse contributes to chronic kidney diseases (CKD). And they demand only for injections and do not relent even if tablets are prescribed, say doctors. In fact, Commissioner of Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP), Dr B Shiva Prasad said that he too faced such situations during early days of practise where patients have demanded medicines, and doctors were verbally abused when they turned down the demands.
Government doctors said that some people without qualification in medicine who have clinics in rural areas indiscriminately give analgesics injections as it gives instant relief from pain. People developing CKDs or kidney failure is not a impending situation. Professor and Head of Nephrology department at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Dr Gangadhar Taduri said that when they studied medication history of some CKD patients, they learnt that the patients developed the diseases because of abuse of analgesics.
“If tablets are prescribed, they throw them. Despite making them aware about how their kidneys and other parts will get affected, they continue to insist for the injections. In fact, some of them said they are not worried what happens to their body in long term and all they are concerned about is instant relief,” said a doctor who works at a CHC in the State and did not want to be quoted.
TVVP commissioner Dr Shiva Prasad said that they directed doctors not to entertain such requests when there is no need to prescribe the medicines and that IEC material could help in addressing the issue.