Unregulated use of steroids is on the rise with doctors prescribing them to the patients without even running tests.
Often used to treat joint pains amongst a host of other symptoms, doctors agree that despite their ‘magical’ properties, steroids should only be prescribed when the benefits outweigh the risks.
They are often used to treat De Quervain Syndrome (severe wrist pain) but there is a good chance the pain gets worse once the effects wear off.
Men and sex workers often use harmful steroids to enhance performance without realizing that long term use may lead to disastrous consequences.
Physiotherapists are of the view that if steroids are used to treat pain that can be fixed by physiotherapy sessions, the condition might worsen.
Salma Khatun (pseudonym) went to the physical medicine doctor with severe wrist pain who arranged for her to be injected with steroids.
The prescription was made without running tests on her blood sugar or pressure despite the fact that side-effects of steroids include diabetes and high blood pressure.
Although Salma was cured of her pain the very next day, five months later she came back with double the pain.
In Rajshahi’s Royal Hospital a child as young as one-and-half-year-old was injected with steroids after her parents brought her in with fever.
Prabin Hitoishi Hospital of Geriatric Medicine doctor Mohsin Kabir told Bangla Tribune that young people are discouraged from steroid use especially since long term use reduces the flexibility of muscles.
“They are usually prescribed to senior citizens as pain killers, but we discourage young people taking steroids,” he said.
He added that often patients themselves use them for the second time without any prescription and added that long-term usage of steroids cause a lot of problems.
Kabir said that often steroids are combined with anesthesia which remains effective for a year but after that the pain doubles and takes longer to heal.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Medicine Department former dean and medicine specialist Dr ABM Abdullah told said that under no circumstances can steroids be prescribed any tests.
“There is a specific way to give steroids to patients who do need it but not without running tests,” he said.
He alleged that there are many doctors who recommend this without thinking of the side-effects in order to gain popularity.
On the several side-effects, he said that long-term and unnecessary use of steroids cause high blood-sugar, ulcers, psychiatric problems, high blood-pressure, bone erosion, drying up of muscles which is known as Cushing Syndrome.