Gutka - eating death

This week (3 days a week in the ward) was fast-paced info-packed, highly educating and gave a real thrill. I've learned a lot in these past three days about life and goings on in the Surgical ward. I now appreciate the University's move to assign three days wholly to clinical studies each week, rather than the old system where students had to visit the wards for two hours daily. With this new system in place, we can feel the difference - there is actual structured learning going on and we have time, each day we're there, to explore, investigate and learn about diseases and their treatments.

This week, the focus was on physical examination of the abdomen for different signs and symptoms of disease. The major cases that presented in the wards dealt with Cholilithiasis, Pancreaitis, Parotid and other swellings. In fact, we even had a case where a 16-year old boy, Aquil, had a swelling on the left side of his neck - a result of addiction to "gutka" - the menace that's consuming the poorer sections of society.

Gutka is a chewing powder-like substance that is manufactured by low-class, unhygenic industries with a lot of trash and grabage ground into it. It's wholly carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and addictive as well, for the drugs that are added to it. This poison is sold for just ONE rupee (about 1.4 cents!) so that young children in poor localities are entrapped. Aquil lay quietly on the hospital bed and when I asked him questions about his lump, he answered reasonably. I was thinking, 'It could be enlarged tonsils.' Then, I asked him to open his mouth. Lo and Behold! Through whatever little of his mouth that he could open, all I could see was a dark-red, swelled up oral cavity. The answer was obvious... it might be cancer of the oral cavity because of Gutka.

The whole story came pouring out. Turns out, the mother also ate Gutka occassionally and thus, her son wasn't very receptive to her scoldings. Aquil's younger brother had more sense, we found out. According to Aquil's mother, her younger son advised and insisted upon Aquil to give up Gutka. And despite the pain and swelling, and the hazardous implications of those, Aquil still eats Gutka when no-one's watching. It was sad to see that boy, once reportedly healthy and now looking that he'd lost weight (difficulty and pain in swallowing made him avoid eating food). We gave Aquil a slogan 'Zidd ya Zindagi?' (which roughly translates as, 'Stubborness or Health?')

Aquil was discharged temporarily and he'll be back in the ward soon for surgery. When I see him again, I'll be sure to tell him off seriously. Perhaps I took take along a garbage bin and show him the ingredients to his Gutka addiction. And also, it would be advisable to refer him and his parents to a rehab institution for such addictions.