Monday 9 June 2014

Severe urinary problem of a child

Severe and chronic urinary problem of years
The four year old child had suffered severe pain in urinary tract from infancy. She would cry continuously and the parents realized the reason only when she was old enough to be able to communicate to them. She also did not have sensation of passing feaces, and therefore had no control over her bowel movement. Her appetite had always been very poor. The child had been admitted in many hospitals and besides medications, invasive procedure had also been done. Over ten different private doctors had been consulted. The mother guesses the cost must have run to two lakhs though they stopped keeping count. Economically they come from a lower middle class background.

The child from infancy would cry a lot. As the mother had very little breast milk, the baby was on formula feed from the beginning. At four months the paediatrician advised a change in the formula feed and the baby started having loose motions and would cry ceaselessly. She was hospitalized for a week. But her loose motions continued and the bouts of crying became more severe. A change of the formula feed was recommended, but the loose motions continued despite the change.  

 At six months she was taken to a well known children's hospital. There a scan was recommended. As the child was continuously crying they gave her 10ml dose of a sedative so that she would sleep and they could take the scan. As she still kept crying she was given another 5ml and then the scan was taken. Then the mother was told that the small and large intestine had got stuck, and that a pipe would have to be pushed up the anus and air blown in to force them apart. When that procedure was conducted, the child shrieked so continuously that the family was unable to bear it and left the room. Even after the procedure the child kept crying. In a week the child’s weight came down from 6kg to 4.5kg, and the mother according to her own account felt that she would ‘lose her child’, and got the child discharged against medical advice. The doctors had planned three such procedures in all, though after the first procedure they decided that the next two may not be needed. The financial cost there was Rs. 35,000/-.

From six months onwards the child was prescribed sleeping tonics in increasing doses by various doctors to address her severe pain. No doctor was able to address the problem, and the child had had many courses of medicines, injections and enemas. One doctor advised that the child be given only mother’s milk, and kanji to supplement. But, the mother said, that the problem was that she did not have enough milk. Another doctor said that there was urinary infection as she was passing motions without proper bowel control and that she should be toilet-trained. But the child did not seem to have the sensation of passing motions and the question of toilet-
training did not arise. They had also not admitted her in school for these reasons. One doctor advised that she be put in school, as that may resolve the problem if it was psychosomatic. So the child was put in school and an ayah was allotted to the child ulltime to address her sudden passing of stools.

The last prescription included KMac and Eva Q. The mother said that the doctor had told her that K Mac was to cause a morning bowel movement for the child so that there would be better comfort during the day. Though it has documented side effects it was advised for long term use. The other drug was Eva Q which was advised for two years.

A pharmacist warned the mother against its long term use. So the mother started phasing it out on her own.

The unbearable pain during urination continued unabated, and at nights the child was unable to sleep. A doctor advised that she be seated in a tub of warm salt water when the pains came on. The mother said that sometimes through the night the child used to be kept in the tub. The last hospital told her that during the next visit the child should be admitted for a day and urine would be collected for 24 hours through a catheter for tests before the next course of intervention could be decided. The mother was unwilling.

During pregnancy the mother had a lot of urinary difficulties, and had had a lot of medications. She had also had many antibiotic courses for a cold that lasted through her pregnancy.

Treatment

The child was brought to the ayurvedic clinic with the main complaint of severe pain and burning in the urinary tract. Urination caused severe pain, and urine would come out in drops. The pain in the urinary tract often lasted through the night. The previous night the pain had been so severe that through the night the child was kept in a tub of warm water. The child also had no sensation of passing motions, and thereby no bowel control. She also had a long standing problem of loose motions, and had had three loose motions that morning. With the main complaint being severe pain and burning during urination, she was prescribed three medicines to normalize the flow of urine. A medicated oil was prescribed for external application below navel and around the urinogenital region. She was also prescribed a choornam to improve her power of digestion, strength and general health. Along with this she was prescribed a diet which was suitable for her condition.

On her second visit two weeks later the mother reported that the child was quite well. She said that within two days, the pain and burning during urination had almost completely gone, and the child was also able to indicate when she wanted to pass motions. The child was advised to continue the same medicines and to come after a month for review. The child has been well since then.

It sounds unbelievable that such suffering of years was addressed so promptly by ayurveda, but with proper diagnosis such relief is possible. From the ayurvedic point of view the elimination of urine and motion were seriously impaired due to severe aggravation of vata (one of the three disease causing factors in the human body) in
the urinogenital region. Aggravation of vata had also impaired her power of digestion. As a result the child had very poor appetite. Any attempt at resolving this condition depended entirely on bringing the aggravated vata to normalcy. Only then it could carry out its normal function of elimination of urine and feces from the body. This was achieved through the medication as well as diet prescribed to the child. In this case the child was lucky to have found an effective cure in ayurveda. 

However it must be pointed out that all diseases are amenable to treatment and cure only in their initial stages. They are difficult to treat when they become old and chronic.

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