scorecardresearch
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeIndiaIn UP's Jhansi, rising Covid cases have created 'ICU fear psychosis' among...

In UP’s Jhansi, rising Covid cases have created ‘ICU fear psychosis’ among hospitalised patients

Doctors say Covid patients are developing fear psychosis, witnessing all the death & gloom around them. One patient died by suicide in the district's biggest hospital after developing this condition.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

Jhansi: The second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in India has not just brought with it an inordinate rise in the number of cases and deaths, but also anxiety, paranoia, and the fear of death among people.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi, the anxiety engulfing Covid patients admitted to hospitals is leading to a growing ‘ICU fear psychosis’ — a state of extreme panic and fear by virtue of being in an ICU.

One such case was a 52-year-old patient who jumped off the fourth floor of the ICU ward at the state government-run Maharani Laxmi Bai hospital last month.

Jitendra Yadav, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said he has noticed a growing fear psychosis and in some Covid patients, a growing suicidal tendency as well.

“Patients who are getting admitted in second surge and end up staying in hospital for long, often try to seek relief. If they don’t get that relief for a long time, some of them begin to inch closer to suicide,” Yadav said.

He also said a patient Thursday attempted to jump off the ICU ward in front of him.

“He was trying to break the glass by slamming his tiffin box on it. Thankfully we managed to stop him and control him, but yes, he is an example of this psychosis manifesting in this form,” Yadav said.

Doctors say this condition is being witnessed even among patients whose vitals gradually improve, but the fear of death and devastation remains in their minds.

“Unfortunately, Covid patients in ICU wards are not only exposed to all the paraphernalia of wires and monitors, but are also witness to many unfortunate events. There are many critical patients who suddenly die in front of their eyes,” said doctor Zaqi Siddhi, member of the Critical Care committee for Covid-19 at the Maharani Laxmi Bai hospital.

Siddhi said the psychosis manifests itself in certain kinds of behaviour: aggression, overt concern or excessively emotional behavior and in some cases, non-compliance to the advice of the physician.

However, due to the high number of deaths in the second wave, many patients are entering this state of paranoia even if they aren’t in the ICU. Moreover, the condition is being seen among a higher number of patients since April.

“To some extent it is seen in non-ICU Covid patients also. Some amount of panic is associated with just getting diagnosed with Covid in the second surge. This is because they are testing positive at a time when they are seeing news of all the death and devastation,” Siddhi added.


Also read: It’s 2021, but floating bodies in UP and Bihar have sent us back to 1918


‘Shaken’ patients insist on being taken home 

56-year-old Jagdish Sharma was admitted to the Maharani Laxmi Bai hospital last week. His condition has marginally improved in the last few days, says his son Gajendra Sharma, who has been living on the footpath right at the doorstep of the hospital ever since his father got admitted. But Friday morning, he received a call from his father insisting that Gajendra take him home.

“A patient was brought the previous night and placed on a bed next to him. Then, by early morning, the patient passed away. Papa was extremely shaken by that and kept insisting that I take him home,” said Gajendra.

jhansi hospital
Gajendra Sharma (in grey t-shirt), whose father was admitted to Maharani Laxmi Bai hospital last week, says he is worried about his dad’s mental well-being | Nirmal Poddar | ThePrint

Gajendra is growing restless about his father’s mental well-being. “I really worry about him. You and I aren’t admitted in a hospital but imagine if someone dies in front of us right now, how devastating will that be. So for him to be in that hospital bed 24×7 and seeing all those deaths, it can’t be easy.”

At ‘A Life’, a private hospital in Jhansi, the worry of families of Covid patients remains the same.

“The state of complete isolation is really getting to him. He remains emotional and upset even when his vitals are improving,” said Dheeraj Singh, whose father is admitted to the hospital for Covid treatment.


Also read: ‘Dead body could infect us, wood is expensive’ — tragic stories of Covid victims in Ganga


Suicidal thoughts

In extreme cases, the fear psychosis may also lead to suicidal tendencies.

Speaking to ThePrint, the doctors at Maharani Laxmi Bai hospital said the condition of the 52-year-old woman, who died last month, was improving, but she had developed severe fear psychosis by that time.

“She had acute hypoxia, that is, her oxygen levels were low. But her hypoxia was corrected and she became better. But she still continued to have anxiety and phobia,” said Dr Paras Gupta, co-nodal officer for Covid at the hospital.

“These are rare and extreme cases, we must keep in mind,” added Dr Gupta.

Authorities in the Jhansi district administration told ThePrint that of the total 462 covid deaths in the district so far, 174 took place last year, while 288 have died this year, so far.

Counselling and family help

Relatives of some patients say that seeing the deluge of deaths around the ICU wards hasn’t just had a mental, but also physical impact on patients’ health.

covid patient 2
A Covid patient on oxygen support lies on a stretcher at Maharani Laxmi Bai hospital in UP’s Jhansi district | Nirmal Poddar | ThePrint

Narendra Rathi says his father, who has been in A Life hospital for Covid treatment for the last five days, cries every day.

“When he sees the condition of someone around him gradually depleting, he starts having the worst kind of thoughts about himself also. His pulse rate goes high and his heart starts beating faster, and he inevitably begins crying,” Rathi said.

“But the only way we are able to keep him calm is by motivating him and giving him hope,” he added.

Sources in the Jhansi district administration said that owing to this growing trend of ‘ICU fear psychosis’, a relief team of top doctors from the district had been constituted in April.

“The relief team’s suggestions were that doctors need to be trained to brief Covid patients in a way that it doesn’t add to their panic and fear, but assuages it,” the sources said.

Dr Gupta says in order to counter this growing rate of fear psychosis, a team of doctor-counsellors at Maharani Laxmi Bai hospital regularly visits every patient in the ICU ward to counsel them.

“We have a team of counsellors who regularly visit all the patients. And if needed we give them medicines for depression,” he said. “Once they get over that fear, and reach home after getting discharged, they are completely normal.”


Also read: Meerut is UP’s worst-hit Covid district, but villagers there still fear testing & hospitals


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular