Eating sindoor puts man's life at risk

A 35-yr-old Mehsana resident wasdiagnosed with kidney failure after suffering from lead poisoning due toconsuming sindoor for 11 yrs

Sindoor is an integral part of the Hindu ritual used in mar riages and for religious pur poses. But did you ever hear of people eating sindoor? A 35year-old Mehsana resident visited Civil Kidney Hospital two months ago with complaints of acute abdominal ailments, vomiting and facial puffiness.

After diagnosis, it was discovered that excessive presence of lead in his body damaged his kidney. He had no reports of medical history which made the doctors look for the reasons behind the presence of lead in his body.

However, later the patient confessed that for the past 11 years he had been consuming 5-10grams of sindoor every year.

“The patient had been consuming sindoor as it was a customary religious practice in his village. Devotees eat prasad offered to them at temples but he used to eat sindoor as he considered it as prasad. As sindoor has high concentration of lead which he had been consuming for years, it affected his kidney,“ said Dr Vivek Kute, nephrologist at Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC).Along with medical treatment, he was also provided psychological counseling so that he can overcome his addiction for sindoor.

HIGH LEAD CONTENT

“Sindoor contains high amount of lead which has excessively harmful effect on the viral organs of human body. Though it is not meant for consumption purpose, many people get addicted to it which leads to lead poisoning,“ said Kute.As most Hindu families use sindoor in their everyday lives, very few of them have knowledge about the adverse effects it can have on one's health if consumed.

“This case identifies sindoor as a potential lead exposure among people and clinicians should be aware of this risk factor and inquire about it while searching for a source of lead exposure in high-risk population,“ he added.