Lockdown: Alcohol addicts with withdrawal symptoms rush to Erragadda Mental Hospital

Hyderabad: Erragadda Mental Hospital is witnessing a surge of alcoholics who have gone berserk after failing to get the booze in the lockdown.

A man committed suicide in Hyderabad over non-availability of liquor. While in Kerala, two ended their lives. People have even slit their throats for not getting liquor.

A fake message was also circulated on the social media saying the excise department has allowed wine shops to remain open from 2 pm to 5:30 pm. Following this, people were seen lining up outside wine shops.

Hospital officials said more than 100 patients have reported after they inflicted wounds on themselves for not getting the booze.

Head of the department at Erragadda Mental Hospital, Vunna Shankar said due to the non-availability of Alcohol, patients have been suffering from withdrawal problems.

“The cases have been gradually increasing from Saturday. There were 16 cases on Saturday. On Sunday there were 25 cases, out of which, 5-6 were serious. On Monday, the number of cases went up to 94. There are psychiatrists available in each district of the state to treat the patients. So people can get treated wherever they are”, Dr Shanker said.

Dr Shanker said severe cases can be treated at Erragadda Mental Hospital and rest at different medical colleges. “The first stage of the treatment is detoxification. They don't eat meals properly and suffer from dehydration. So the next stage of the treatment starts once they are stable. They are admitted here for at least 8-10 days. The patients with greater withdrawal problems are discharged later”, he said