Even rudimentary health checks prove difficult to avail

Monirul Alam, a resident of Gendaria, has been suffering from high blood pressure for the last two years.

Last week, while grocery shopping at Dhupkhola kitchen market, suddenly he started feeling unwell. Immediately, he went to a nearby pharmacy to check his blood pressure (BP). But he was refused.

Desperate, Monir searched around 10 more dispensaries in the area, but he was turned down everywhere.

"This is how I always get my BP checked. But now everyone is rejecting out of fear of coronavirus," Monir said. This is a regular service offered by dispensaries, who do it for a Tk 10 fee.

Finally, a young pharmacy owner at Satish Sarkar Road of Gendaria agreed to check his BP. The BP was found to be oscillating between 80 and 60.

Confirmed of his condition, Monir consulted a doctor over phone and took the necessary steps to get the pressure back to normal.

The experience was too much for Monir. Within a couple of days, he went to Jatrabari and bought a BP checker. The checking process turned out to be surprisingly easy. Monir and his wife learned the operation from YouTube tutorials.

BP issues are a common ailment for many across the country, who are feeling the crunch during this pandemic, especially those with lower-incomes.

Pharmacy owners said their hands are tied. Alamgir Hossain, owner of a dispensary at Ibrahimpur, said, "It's not possible to provide the service maintaining social distancing. It's not like we want to refuse people who come to us, but we don't have a choice."

Meanwhile, with the growing demand of BP machines, the price of the medical gadget has seen an upsurge.

A staff of Sayma Pharmacy at Mirpur-10, a store that sells BP checkers, said, "Sales have seen an increase."

Same goes for prices. The staffer said the price of a manual BP machine has increased by Tk 30 to Tk 100, and is now selling between Tk 1,500 to Tk 2,500.

Contacted, Prof Md Mujibur Rahman, head of department of medicine of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said, "It is better and safer to buy a machine for use at home during the pandemic."

However, going to pharmacies is inevitable for those who can't afford it. "If pharmacies have to do it, they must make sure that staffers are wearing masks, gloves, and use sanitiser while providing the service," Prof Mujibur said.