KARIMNAGAR, MAY 23, 2025: A first aid box in most houses includes some basic medicines. Painkillers form a bulk of these drugs. From a headache to a toothache, from a sore throat to sore muscles or even bringing down a fever, most Indians will pop a pill at the ‘expert’ advice of the friendly neighbourhood chemist and at times even without it.
While painkillers can and do reduce pain and provide instant relief, unregulated use and self-prescribed medicines can prove fatal to your health. This applies especially to those who have been taking painkillers continuously or have been on high doses for years. This painkiller abuse may lead to kidney failure and/or liver damage, amounting to acute hepatitis and even bleeding in the stomach. The addiction to painkillers is more fatal than drugs like cocaine or heroin. Thus, it is imperative to keep a check on taking such medicines too frequently.
Talking to newsmen at Yashoda Medical Centre in Karimnagar town on Friday, Dr Arun Kumar Ponna, Nephrologist, Yashoda Hospitals, Somajiguda, Hyderabad, said that kidney failure has emerged as a silent killer in the country in general and youngsters in particular without any symptoms. Quoting an example, where the hospital had treated a 40-year-old woman patient, Radha, from Sircilla, who had creatinine levels of more than 6 following the treatment from an RMP for fever and body pains, Dr Arun said that the patient’s relative had immediately shifted her to Yashoda hospital for treatment.
After admitting the patient, the doctors found that the patient’s creatinine level was increasing considerably from 6 to 8 and 10. The doctors immediately conducted a biopsy of the kidney and found that it was undergoing an allergic reaction. The doctors started treatment accordingly without any dialysis and completely cured the patient following her early arrival to the hospital, he stated.
The doctor advised the people mostly the younger generation, to conduct yearly medical check-ups to avoid any spread of diseases, including kidney failure, which is a silent failure without any symptoms.
Unlike other ailments, early-stage kidney disease does not present obvious warning signs like swelling or changes in urine output, making regular screening essential, says Dr Arun and warned that kidney disease is a silent killer, often showing no symptoms in its early stages. He also reminded that the kidney failure cases were higher among the younger generation due to their sedentary lifestyle and eating more outside food containing more salt and spices.
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