By the time Selvi* gets home from her work as a nurse, it’s often nearly 12 hours since she left home. She’s responsible for the health of dozens of patients at the primary health centre where she works, but her own health often takes a backseat. “There is not enough manpower, so I have to work longer hours. I barely get to see my children. I got spondylitis and I have leg pain from standing for long hours. My colleagues have hypertension, diabetes and deep vein thrombosis. We tell all our patients to breastfeed for six months at least, but we ourselves barely get to do this,” she said.
While dedicating their lives to caring for the health of others, their health can often take a beating, say medical and paramedical professionals. Pressure, stress, long, odd hours and irregular eating can lead to a host of issues including gastritis, hypertension and other ailments.
“We preach and teach lifestyle modifications to our patients, but a lot of the time, we don’t follow these instructions. We don’t eat right, don’t sleep enough and we don’t go for enough check ups,” said A. Muruganathan, president, Hypertension Society of India, stressing that prophylactic vaccinations, screening for various conditions and relieving stress were important for those in the profession.
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“A few years ago, the IMA held a programme to promote the health of doctors and all branches were advised to have doctors checked for blood pressure, diabetes and eye pressure,” said C.N. Raja, former State secretary, Indian Medical Association, Tamil Nadu.
A study published in January 2008 revealed that doctors had high cholesterol levels and higher obesity, hypertension and pre-diabetes rates compared to the general population, said A. Ramchandran, of A. Ramachandran’ Diabetes Hospitals, one of the authors of the study.
And it’s not just physical health — studies have shown that depression and burnout are common among doctors, especially mental health professionals, said R. Thara, director, Schizophrenia Research Foundation.
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“Illness among doctors is somewhat stigmatised, and so, they may not seek help as soon as they need to. There is also a work culture of not making a big deal of a minor illness and working through it — this starts from the time you are a student — which adds to the issue. Studies abroad have shown that the suicide rate among doctors is twice is that of the general population,” said Paul Ramesh, senior consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, Apollo Hospitals. For ambulance drivers and emergency medical technicians, back pain and urinary tract infections are common, said R. Rajendran, of the 108 Ambulance Workers Association. “Seating, cramped leg space, carrying the stretcher and driving over 300 km in about 12 hours all cause problems. We are always stressed while going to pick up a patient,” he said.
Women have it worse, as they often don’t drink water due to a lack of restroom facilities and develop abdominal pain and infections, said another ambulance worker. “They also face miscarriages,” she said. This apart, there are also occupational hazards such as the risk of infection and needle stick injuries.
“Patients are a doctor’s first priority. But it is desirable to draw a line on how far you can stretch yourself without compromising your health,” said S.M. Chandramohan, senior surgical gastroenterologist. Stress busters, exercise, sleep and a good diet on time are all necessary, doctors say.
* Name changed