Doctors remove turmeric seeds that formed layers in elderly man’s lungs

The patient, who is a farmer, developed a chronic cough for the last three months and visited multiple hospitals for treatment

Recently, an 85-year-old who consumed turmeric seeds to alleviate cough symptoms was left with a severe cough for more than three months, the doctors said.

On Friday, the patient was discharged from DPU Super Specialty Hospital in Pimpri after a successful operation where a foreign object was removed from his body. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

The patient, who is a farmer, developed a chronic cough for the last three months and visited multiple hospitals for treatment. He was also admitted to a local hospital for his symptoms and ended up spending lakhs of rupees on the treatment. However, doctors were unable to diagnose the root cause and he continued to suffer from an intractable cough.

On Friday, the patient was discharged from DPU Super Specialty Hospital in Pimpri after a successful operation where a foreign object was removed from his body.

According to Dr MS Barthwal, head of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, it was observed that a foreign body had enlarged and formed layers in the lung of the patient.

Dr MS Barthwal performed a bronchoscopy on the patient and removed the foreign body in a surgery held on Monday.

“We were unable to confirm the nature of the foreign body and when it was cut, we discovered that it had a yellowish colour, and it exhibited a yellowish hue upon removal. When inquired with the patient he informed me that he tended to put a piece of turmeric seeds in his mouth before going to bed, to alleviate cough symptoms,” Dr Barthwal said.

As per doctors, the piece of turmeric seed might have accidentally entered the lungs during sleep and inadvertently lodged in his airway.