FLUOROSIS – NEEDS ‘POLIO’ LIKE ATTENTION

kushagra bhardwaj January 17, 2015 Health, INDIA 30

FLUOROSIS – NEEDS ‘POLIO’ LIKE ATTENTION
Fluorosis is one of the worst disease caused by the deposition of fluorides in the body. One of the main reason for this serious health problem is the excess deposition of fluorides in the body. The two main types of fluorosis are are Dental fluorosis and Skeletal fluorosis. UNICEF estimates that “fluorosis is endemic in at least 25 countries across the globe with India and China the most vulnerable countries. Endemic fluorosis resulting from high fluoride concentration in groundwater is a public health problem in India and India is the worst fluorosis affected country with an estimated 10 lakh people suffering from it. One of the main reasons sited for this disease, having such a high impact in India is the fact that a large number of Indians rely on groundwater for drinking purposes and water at many places is rich in fluoride.World Health Organization (WHO) has set the upper limit of fluoride concentration in drinking water at 1.5 mg/l and The Bureau of Indian Standards has set this limit as s 1.0 mg/l. Intake of Fluoride higher than this level is the main reason for Dental and Skeletal Fluorosis.

Dental fluorosis – Excessive exposure to the people living in high concentrations of fluoride can cause dental discoloration,  initially making the teeth dull and yellow which gradually turns brown and black and in later stages teeth may be pitted or perforated and may even get chipped off.

Skeletal Fluorosis – In advanced cases, skeletal fluorosis causes pain and damage to bones and joints.The symptoms include severe pain and stiffness in the backbone,joints and/or rigidity in hip bones and in severe cases, pressure on nerves even leads to paralysis.

But sadly, no heed is paid to this serious issue from the side of the government and even the the NGOs. Its time to stand up and fight together to combat this disease, the way we eradicated polio from our country.