Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday cautioned citizens against indiscriminate and excessive use of steroids, saying that it i...
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday cautioned citizens against indiscriminate and excessive use of steroids, saying that it is leading to coronavirus-related complications.
“People are taking heavy doses of steroids even when they have not turned hypoxic,” Vardhan said. “Steroids are to be provided only when a patient is hypoxic, to be administered in small doses to prevent side effects and not more than a few days at a stretch. Recommendations of a doctor is must for the use of these medicines.”
Hypoxic is used to refer to patients who suffer from hypoxia, a condition in which the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level. The condition can affect the whole body or some region.
Vardhan made the statement during an inspection of a newly-installed oxygen plant and the construction progress of new Covid-19 blocks at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The health minister said that he hoped his advice helps reduce the number of mucormycosis infections being reported countrywide.
Mucormycosis, or “black fungus”, has been found in several coronavirus patients across the country, mostly after they have recovered. The condition involves headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion, and partial loss of vision. The rare infection is caused by a fungus named...
