Throat diseases common in rural areas

MULTAN: According to medical officials over 300,000 patients in southern Punjab currently suffer from goitre and every third goitre patient is female.

“Nearly 70 per cent of the total patients are from rural areas of the province and throat-related diseases are extremely commonplace,” said Dr Asif Shehbaz. According to the doctor, if remained untreated goitre could develop into cancer.

“The most troubling part is that people do not seem concerned about the disease and patients only come to us when their condition becomes critical,” he said. The T-3 and T-4 tests for confirming the disease are only available at Multan Nishtar Hospital’s MINAAR wing.

Doctors at Nishtar Hospital have said that people need to be informed about the treatment for goitre and its effects. “The most common treatment is the use of iodine in lieu of iodized salt easily available in the market,” regional district health officer Abdul Salam said, adding, “however this isn’t effective if the patient’s condition has become serious.” Salam said that the disease was most common in rural villages where people did not know about the simple treatment for the condition. Executive District Officer (EDO-Health) Zafar Islam said that the district administration was working to create awareness about the disease.

“We have asked lady health visitors to create awareness about the disease and its treatment in rural areas. We have also been coordinating with our Food Wing to check the quality of iodized salt,” the EDO said.

The EDO said that the district government was also coordinating with NGOs and the media to launch a massive awareness campaign about basic cures for common diseases in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2011.