Two children die after consuming a cough syrup in Rajasthan

The doctor also consumed it to prove it was safe, but later fainted.

A tragic incident has made the headlines, where two children died after consuming a cough syrup by a company named Kayson Pharma. The doctor also drank the same to prove that it is safe; however, later, he also fainted.

Two children die after consuming cough syrup in Rajasthan.

Two innocent souls lost their lives after consuming a cough syrup by a company called Kayson Pharma. The incident occurred in Rajasthan, and 22 batches of the syrup, manufactured for the Rajasthan government by the pharmaceutical company, have now been banned. The cough syrup not just killed two children but also led to at least 10 others falling ill in the state over the past few weeks, said officials. Shockingly, the doctor who prescribed the cough syrup for the two children also consumed it himself to prove it was safe. However, he fainted and was found in his car eight hours later.

What happened to the children after they consumed the cough syrup?

The dangers of some batches of the cough syrup, containing the compound dextromethorphan hydrobromide and manufactured by a company called Kayson Pharma, came to light on Monday when a five-year-old boy died hours after being given the drug. Nitish, 5, from Sikar district in Rajasthan, developed a cough and cold and was taken by his parents to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Chirana on Sunday. The doctor prescribed the cough syrup, which the Centre provided, and Nitish’s mother gave it to him around 11:30 pm. At 3 am, Nitish woke up and hiccuped; after which, his mother gave him some water, and he went back to sleep. He never awoke after that. The boy’s uncle, Priyakant Sharma, told NDTV, “Nitish was alright that day and had also gone for the Navratri programme in the evening. When he began coughing again at night, he was given the medicine that we had got from the Chirana CHC. In the morning, we realised he was not waking up and took him to the CHC, where the compounder asked us to take him to the government hospital in Sikar. He was given the prescribed dose and was okay before taking the medicine.”

When the news about Nitish broke this week, the parents of a 2-year-old SamratJatav, who died after consuming the cough syrup on September 22, also realised what had caused his death. Dr Tarachand Yogi, who had prescribed the syrup, took a dose of the syrup himself and also gave it to an ambulance driver, Rajendra, to prove that it was safe. He then left for Bharatpur in his car, but felt drowsy, parked on the side of a road and fell unconscious. After they didn’t hear from him for hours, his family tracked down his mobile location and found him in an unconscious state in the car eight hours later.