I still remember that ad in TV where people were urged to simply give water mixed with sugar and salt to children with vomiting or diarrhea.
Our Peds posting in one such ward was spent only in advising that and the great solution which is a life saver! The ORS!
Did you know that the use of ORS was pioneered by an Indian!?
So in 1971, Dr Dilip Mahalanabis was called to serve at a refugee camp in West Bengal where the death toll due to cholera was rising day by day.
At that time though the only solution was to put a drip (IV or intravenous line) to rehydrate the severely dehydrated people who were at a high risk of dying. However, only two healthcare workers among his staff were trained in putting an IV line. An alternative had to be found to help the endless number of people who kept coming in with diarrhoea. In such dire circumstances, when he realized that they were losing the battle, Dr Dilip allowed people to give the rehydration therapy orally!
Despite continuous criticism and resistance from clinicians, Dr Dilip believed that oral rehydration therapy could be given by even untrained relatives of the patients. He kept several drums of the oral rehydration solution (ORS) by his side and asked the family and relatives to keep giving the solution to the patient. The medical fraternity witnessed the miracle of ORS when the death toll among cholera patients dropped from 30 percent to less than 4 percent! Patients were getting better soon and returning home!
This doctor had begun researching oral rehydration therapy in 1966 as a research investigator for the Johns Hopkins University International Center for Medical Research and Training in Calcutta, India. During the Bangladeshi war for independence, he led the effort by the Johns Hopkins Center that demonstrated the dramatic life-saving effectiveness of oral rehydration therapy!
The simple, inexpensive Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) gained acceptance, and was later hailed as one of the most important medical advances of the 20th century! Even now when anyone is tired or simply sick, a glass of ORS is a life saver! It not only takes care of the sugar and salt but also levels up vital electrolytes and minerals!
Thousands of children who recovered owe their life to Dr Dilip!
Another great doctor and human was Bhakti Yadav aka Doctor dadi!
Read about her!
It’s inspiring!
Shubh ratri!
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