ISLAMABAD: As many as 5,500 gastro patients visited Pakistan Institute and Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Federal Government Service Hospital (FGSH) Policlinic Hospital during Eidul Azha holidays.
According to the information obtained by Daily Times, around 3,000 stomach patients visited PIMS and 2,500 such patients visited FGSH Policlinic Hospital to get treatment for various stomach ailments. Doctors blamed overeating in most of the cases.
The PIMS and FGSH Policlinic are two major public sector hospitals in the capital that cater to the patients arriving not only from capital itself but from the surrounding areas, including Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Khushab, Attock, Chakwal, Texila, Jehlum, Abbottabad, Muree and Azad Kashmir.
A doctor in PIMS said that most of the patients suffered from various stomach ailments due to overeating meat.
“Most the patients had upset stomachs. We tried our best to give the best treatment to these patients,” he said.
Dr Waseem Khawja, a gastroenterologist at PIMS, said that overeating had serious health effects. “There are some short-term negative effects of overeating. This happens when lean body types consume high calorie diets over a short span of time. Along with this short-term negative outcome, it can also have long-term effects including cancer, heart problems and fatty liver disease,” he said.
He maintained that overeating also had harmful effects on the body’s metabolism. “Overeating may destroy the body’s regular metabolic response. In the body, there is a molecule called RNA-dependent protein kinase. It points out and fights viruses with other molecules. If someone overeats, it directly attacks the metabolism,” he said.
“When people eat too much, excess nutrients attack cells that contain the said protein, and its response is to fight back by shutting down metabolism because all of these extra nutrients are perceived as a threat. This can lead to metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity,” Dr Khawaja said.
“Although it is difficult, particularly during Eid days, but using a food diary, working with a nutritionist or seeking counseling about eating habits can help someone deal with overeating. In this way, one would eat a controlled diet as he/she would have been aware about these issues,” he said.
As per documentary information provided by a doctor in FGSH Policlinic Hospital, around 29 gastro patients arrived separately in Policlinic on Monday.
The information suggests that the some of the patients underwent Immunoglobulin (IGM) tests. According to which, nine patients were diagnosed with the disease, while two patients were admitted for further treatment.
FGSH Policlinic Hospital media coordinator Dr Shareef Ashtori said that the hospital was trying its best to provide treatment to all patients. He said that doctors had been assigned special duties during Eid holidays.
Published in Daily Times, September 6th 2017.