Vryheid pharmacy runs out of meds as sick residents flock to medical centres
"Don’t wait too long before you seek medication because dehydration can be dangerous, especially in children.”
This story has been updated with a follow up story. Please scroll to the bottom of the story for a link to the latest update.
Pharmacist, Ingrid Klingenberg, said this weekend she had completely run out of meds used to treat nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea for the first time in her career.
“I run the only pharmacy that is available on standby and over the weekends, and it was so busy that I had to step in to assist with depot duty for the first time in my life,” said Mrs Klingenberg.
“At first, I thought it may be a virus due to the change in season, but then I realised that that the patients were not running a high temperature. I advise all residents to buy bottled water if they can and boil the water properly if you are drinking tap water. Also, don’t wait too long before you seek medication because dehydration can be dangerous, especially in children.”
ALSO READ: Don’t drink Vryheid’s tap water, warns mayor
Sbonelo Ndlovu, a student who returned home to Bhekuzulu for the mid-semester break, said nearly everybody in his neighbourhood is sick.
“I try to stay healthy so I drink a lot of water. I started feeling sick on Thursday. I was in town and I felt like my stomach was turning so I returned home and tried to sleep it off, but I started vomiting that evening and continued to vomit repeatedly that night and the next day. I took meds that we had at home and slowly started to feel better. As we speak, my gran and my little niece are going through the same thing,” said Mr Ndlovu. “We are now buying bottled water and boiling the tap water if we run out of bottled water. It must be the water because whatever is causing this is common to every household.”
A resident of Bhekuzulu Old Location, who asked not to be named, agrees that it must be the water.
“All the people in my neighbourhood are also affected. We are not all eating the same food so it must be the water,” he said. “I started feeling sick on Friday and it got worse on Saturday. My stomach was rolling and I had diarrhoea. I went to the clinic and the nurse referred me to a doctor who gave me some pills. In my area, nearly everybody has either gone to the clinic or the hospital for help. My mother is so sick she could not go to work. I also heard that two people from Emadoshini are dead after complaining of the same thing. At home, we are now boiling the water and adding a bit of Jik.”
ALSO READ: It’s not hitting the fan, it’s in the water
Resident of Vryheid town, Thoheeda Saldulker, said her seven year old son started vomiting on Thursday and the vomiting persisted on Friday and Saturday.
“My younger son and I started to feel ill on Saturday and when I got to work on Monday, I discovered that my co-worker had been experiencing the same symptoms. It was just impossible to keep anything down. We self-medicated and we are now feeling a lot better. My family is drinking bottled water but even if you don’t drink the tap water, you are still ingesting it when you brush your teeth, for example. It is very scary,” said Mrs Saldulker.
UPDATE: R160K to test if Vryheid’s water is making residents sick
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