Dr. Pankaj Hari, Head of Pediatric Department, AIIMS New Delhi, has claimed that when any dangerous chemical is mixed in cough syrup, its effect becomes visible within just three days. If there is even a slight delay in reaching the hospital, it becomes almost impossible to save the patient. Dr. Pankaj claimed that in the year 1998 also such a disease had occurred in Gurugram in which children had died. At that time also a similar salt was in medicine.
Dr. Pankaj said that cough syrup does not cause kidney damage or death. Overdose of the medicines which are constituents of cough syrup will make you sleep more, you will become lethargic, but overdose of these medicines does not cause death. Overdose of cough syrup does not cause kidney failure. This whole problem is of contamination. This cough syrup contains a chemical called diethylene glycol which is used for alternative use as a cheap component during manufacturing.
This glycol gets absorbed in the body and reaches your kidneys through blood circulation. After reaching the kidney, it damages the kidney parts and after that, first of all urine stops coming. Kidney failure occurs and brain problems also occur, due to which the patient goes into coma.
what happened in 1998
Dr. Pankaj told that in 1998 I was an assistant professor. Many children had come from a locality in Gurgaon complaining of kidney failure and loss of consciousness. Initially we tested many viruses for this. We couldn’t find any reason. Later, we saw that the medicines he was consuming were not properly labelled. There were yellow and pink colored sherbets in plastic bottles which were tested. When the test was done, it was found that it contained a large amount of diethylene glycol. These children were dying because of her.
It cost the lives of many children, which we also reported in Scientific Journal. After that, similar cases were reported in Lady Hardinge Hospital also and as far as I remember, in recent times, such problems also happened in Gambia where children died due to drinking Indian cough syrup.
no lesson from the accident
Dr. Pankaj told that if we talk about 1998, that medicine was not at the standard, practitioners or quacks were giving it to him in the dispensary. If closed bottles and such medicines are getting contaminated then it is a very bad thing. It is not possible for the patient and parents to find out. You cannot find out by going to the shop, it is the responsibility of the authorities to regularly check these medicines. They have rules and if this medicine is being manufactured wrongly then it is their job to stop it.
It is the responsibility of the drug controller
Dr. Pankaj said that see, as far as this entire matter is concerned, it is the responsibility of the drug controller, not the doctor, it is completely the responsibility of the drug controller. What happened in 1998 was contamination in paracetamol. Actually, the problem is not in the medicine but in the process of making the medicine. There is a need to take the drug controller forward in this and not stop the medicine itself.
Then the patient’s life can be saved
Dr. Pankaj said that everything depends on the quantity of medicine. If you have taken less quantity of medicine then it is possible that the symptoms may be mild and you may recover quickly. If you reach the hospital quickly, dialysis can also be done for these children. How late do you deliver it is the biggest question. To counter this, there is a medicine which was not available earlier. If this medicine is given then it is possible that the patient’s life can be saved. ,