People throng medical shops to seek treatment; doctors term it dangerous
By: Ahmad Shabir
Anantnag: With government suggesting people to get tested and stay in home isolation after developing symptoms of Covid-19, the people here have taken a different route to avoid visiting the doctors and testing process by approaching the medical shops for treatment, thus posing a great risk to their health.
It has come to the fore that people with flu-like symptoms to avoid getting tested at hospitals are flooding local medical shops to seek treatment.
Pertinently, the heads of all the hospitals were directed to test every one for Covid before entering the hospitals.
For last one week, there has been a surge in Covid cases in Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of people are testing positive for Covid every day in both Jammu and Kashmir regions.
Besides, a huge chunk of population are avoiding visit to the hospitals, according to the doctors is down with fever, cough and other flu-like symptoms. Doctors on Tuesday said that all the symptomatic people are infected with the virus.
“Entire Kashmir seems to be in grip of Covid. Everyone around is complaining of fever, cough, sore throat and body pain,” wrote a Facebook user.
However, unlike the second wave when hospitals would witness chaotic scenes with Covid patients due to the huge patient influx and shortage of oxygen, people infected with the various this time are thronging local medical shops to seek treatment.
“More than 90 percent people in our area particularly in our village are suffering from cough and cold. It seems to be flu or Corona. It is a huge rush at medical shops,” wrote a Facebook user, Meer Manzoor.
Another user wrote, “This time it is highly contagious and symptomatic.”
With people avoiding hospitals and preferring self medication, doctors are apprehensive that this may prove detrimental for those with other medical conditions.
“Having a look around every second person has flu like symptoms which most likely is Covid unless proved otherwise. But what is worrying is that people are thronging medical shops and choosing self medication. Now we are in Covid for three running years people have become familiar with some drugs and take it on their own without feeling the need to consult doctor,” Dr Owais H Dar, former General Secretary of DAK, who works at GMC Anantnag told Precious Kashmir.
He said that some antibiotics or other drugs can prove very dangerous for those Covid infected people having kidney, liver or other issues. “No doubt antibiotics are given to Covid patients to prevent secondary I fection but which antibiotic has to be given to the patient has to be decided by the doctor after knowing his the complete history,” Dr Owais said.
