Leading medical devices company Boston Scientific India offered free check-ups and counselling for people with any digestive tract problems in nine cities of the country. Over 1000 people received free check-ups and counselling for digestive problems at patient screening camps that were held in Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kollam, Hyderabad, Manipal, Kota, Ahmedabad and Indore.
Prabal Chakraborty, vice president and managing director, Boston Scientific India said, “Our intent behind this initiative was to encourage people to come forward and take charge of their digestive health, which is an often ignored and misunderstood area. For example, many individuals do not understand that a heartburn has nothing to do with the heart but is a form of indigestion. Parents are often unable to understand what might be wrong when their kid complains of a stomach ache. Problems in the digestive tract can be very distressful. But increased awareness about the causes and symptoms of common digestive health problems along with advanced medical devices and procedures leads to better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of digestive disorders.”
The most common reasons for upper endoscopy include unexplained discomfort in upper abdomen, GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease (often called heartburn), persistent nausea and vomiting, upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding, difficulty swallowing or foods/liquids getting stuck in the oesophagus during swallowing.
Around 1000 patients attended the awareness and screening camps. The gastrointestinal problems investigated were Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) that results in burning chest pain because of stomach acid backing up into the esophagus, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis that cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss and fever, irritable bowel syndrome that causes persistent stomach pain lasting several months, hemorrhoids that cause bleeding while passing stool, and anal fissures that have symptoms similar to those of hemorrhoids.
Some patients suspected of gall bladder stones and bile stones were advised to come back for further endoscopic procedures. At the screening camp doctors also shared tips on how to maintain a healthy gastrointestinal tract and explained the need for procedures such as an endoscopy when it came to diagnosis.
Every May 29, the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO), in collaboration with the WGO Foundation, celebrates World Digestive Health Day (WDHD) and initiates a worldwide public health campaign through its more than 100 Member Societies which reach over 50,000 individuals worldwide. Each year focuses upon a particular digestive disorder in order to increase general public awareness of prevention and therapy. World Digestive Health Day began as a commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the creation of WGO on 29 May 1958.
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