Dr Dilip Mahalanabis, a well-known doctor who is credited with developing oral rehydration therapy, passed away at a private hospital in Kolkata.
The doctors claimed that 87-year-old Mahalanabis had a lung infection and other ageing-related conditions.
He gained notoriety in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War when he utilised an oral rehydration solution to stop a cholera outbreak in a refugee camp in Bangaon, West Bengal, saving thousands of lives.
Dehydration can be prevented and treated with oral rehydration treatment.
Mahalanabis was a pioneer in the treatment of cholera and enteric infections using low-cost procedures, according to Dr. Apurba Ghosh, head of the Institute of Child Health, who expressed sorrow at his demise.
In many developing countries, diarrheal infections like cholera are among the most common causes of baby and young child mortality, where the patient dies of dehydration, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). ORS, a solution of water, glucose, and salts, is a straightforward and affordable way to stop this.
Despite initial scepticism from the medical community, the WHO eventually accepted ORS as the recommended course of therapy for cholera and other diarrheal illnesses.
Today, the ORS formula is advised by the WHO to consist of sodium chloride, anhydrous glucose, potassium chloride, and trisodium citrate dihydrate. The 29th of July is recognised as ORS Day in India.
The Union Health Ministry has popularised instructions on how to prepare and use ORS, which is sold as a powder at pharmacies and health facilities. The instructions, which are available on the India Health Portal website, include combining the contents of the ORS packet with the appropriate amount of water in a clean container. This is crucial because, as the government warns, not enough water may worsen the diarrhoea.
The ORS must also only be added to water; it cannot be used to milk, soup, fruit juice, or any other soft drink. You shouldn't include sugar in the solution.
The solution should be delivered to the youngster in a clean cup as opposed to a bottle after being fully stirred.
Additionally, a step-by-step tutorial for making formulations at home is provided by the National Health Portal. A litre (five 200-ml cups) of clean water should be combined with six level teaspoonfuls of sugar (1 spoon = 5 g) and half a level teaspoonful of salt and mixed until the sugar and salt dissolve.
The portal advises that due to the possibility of bacterial contamination, the ORS solution should be covered and not maintained for longer than 24 hours.
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