Survivors of earthquake in Turkey fell ill serious diagnosis
2023.02.15 10:59
Survivors of earthquake in Turkey fell ill serious diagnosis
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – After the earthquake last week, doctors in a Turkish field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun said they were treating an increasing number of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks.
According to Indian Army Major Beena Tiwari, “Initially the patients were those who sustained injuries under the rubble… now more of the patients are coming with post-traumatic stress disorder, following all the shock that they have gone through during the earthquake and what they have seen.”
She added that a lot of people were coming in with panic attacks.
Over 37,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria as a whole as a result of the earthquake and its follow-up, and many of the survivors are struggling to find shelter and basic sanitation in the icy cold.
The extent of the trauma experienced by survivors is immense. After spending hours in the cold and darkness, some have been pulled from the rubble to find that family members have died or gone missing, and their once-busy neighborhoods have been reduced to piles of shattered concrete.
After a local hospital was destroyed, Tiwari was part of a team of almost 100 Indian specialists who established a field hospital to treat earthquake survivors. The earthquake was one of the worst in Turkey’s modern history.
People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can relive the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks and may have trouble sleeping and concentrating. PTSD is brought on by events that are extremely stressful, frightening, or distressing.
A Turkish medical official stated, “People are only now starting to realise what happened to them after this shock period.”
UNICEF ran a makeshift center across the border in Syria that gave children “psychological first aid” and encouraged them to play and feel safe.
Ahmad, a 9-year-old, stayed at the shelter.
He gets scared by any loud noise or movement. “His father, Hassan Moath, said that sometimes when he is asleep, he wakes up and says, “Earthquake.”
Yaduvir Singh, commander of the Iskenderun hospital, stated that they were also seeing a greater number of patients with infectious diseases and upper respiratory infections, and that the thousands of people who were living outside in tents in subzero temperatures would be suffering greatly.
He stated, “Initially, we were having a lot of trauma cases, people who were buried for a long time, for 72 hours, for 90 hours.”
“We had to perform an amputation on one person in order to save his life; there were surgeries that saved lives and limbs. The case profile is shifting right now.”
The World Health Organization has launched a $43 million appeal to continue routine health services in Turkey, as well as to provide essential medicines, mental and psychosocial support, and trauma care and rehabilitation.
“The requirements are enormous and constantly growing. “Humanitarian assistance is required by approximately 26 million people in both countries,” stated Hans Kluge, WHO Europe Director, in a statement.
He continued:
“Just over a week since this terrible tragedy, there are also growing concerns over emerging health issues linked to the cold weather, sanitation and hygiene, and the spread of infectious diseases.”
