Poor Air Quality: A Major Concern
Bangladesh has been experiencing high levels of air pollution in the last couple of years which has led to a significant impact on people’s health. As per a Health Report, air pollution has become the 2nd leading health risk factor after high blood pressure in our country. According to a Air Quality Study, Bangladesh was among the top 10 countries with the highest outdoor PM 2.5 (particulate matter) levels in 2019. Country’s air is becoming increasingly poisonous in the absence of effective measures to control the release of pollutants.
As a result, the number of lung patients has been on the quick rise. Asthma is noticeably present in people aged under 8 and over 45. Mothers and children are chronically exposed to very high levels of air pollution. The threat of non-communicable diseases including chronic respiratory and cardiovascular illness is rising sharply.
In Bangladesh, people suffer from the worst air quality in the months of November, December, January and February. As it has been a growing tension, the concerned authority need urgent and sustained action to initiate comprehensive focus on reducing air pollution in order to afford clean air for country dwellers.
Wares Ali Khan
Sadar, Narsingdi
Illegible Prescription Writing
Despite the court and government directives, the unclear writing of doctors on patient prescriptions has not stopped. Drug dealers often make the mistake of trying to sell the right medicine because of the short name of the medicine. The patient has to suffer the negative consequences. In January 2017, the High Court directed to write the name of the drug clearly in the patient’s prescription. The government also instructed the doctors to be aware of the matter as per the directions of the court. But still in most cases the prescription of patients is unclear. Even highly educated people find it difficult to understand the real name of medicine.
Just as patients are not able to identify the right medicine due to unclear prescriptions, some opportunistic drug dealers are getting the opportunity to sell low quality medicines at higher prices. In this way, the concerned patient has to face physical loss as well as financial loss. Most of the drug store owners or salesmen the marginal areas are poorly educated. Prescriptions with obscure writing or short names of medicines are beyond their comprehension. As a result, they are more likely to increase patient damage.
In recent times, many physicians are providing printed prescriptions. The handwriting of the doctors is often blurred due to seeing many patients in one sitting. However, to ensure the financial and physical protection of patients, the name of the drug needs to be written clearly and in capital letters. The kind attention of doctors of all levels of the country is expected on the above matter.
Abu Faruk
Sadar Bandarban
