bengaluru karnataka lost 9655 lives in a single year to digestive disorders reveals the medical certification of cause of death mccd report published in 2014 going by the report out of 146286 medically certified deaths in the state that year 66 were caused due to digestive disordersnot just that digestive disorders happen to be the eighth leading cause of deaths in the state as well as in the country they account for 44 of medically certified deaths in india the report is a compilation of various causes of deaths in india by mccd a registry under the union home ministry blaming late detection ignorance among patients and low socioeconomic conditions as primary factors leading to the worrying trend city gastroenterologists have raised concerns about the disorders on the eve of world digestive health day celebrated by world gastroenterology organisation wgo on may 29 every yearstating that nearly 60 of patients in karnataka suffer from acid ity during the day and the remaining 40 suffer symptoms at night dr avinash b associate professor at department of gastroenterology at m s ramaiah memorial hospital said late detection of the disorder is the main cause behind the severity of the condition and large number of fatalities in the state most patients with digestive disorders lack awareness and come from low socioeconomic backgroundsif alarming symptoms like vomiting blood in vomit difficulty in swallowing family history of cancer and weight loss are noted early and followed up with early evaluation by a specialist the disorder can be nipped in the bud he addedselfmedication may not helpdr lawrence peter head of gastroenterology department and consultant gastroenterologist at manipal hospitals pointed out that nearly 44 of patients with digestive disorders and acute acidity experiment with selfmedication and waste around two months before seeking medical help these patients go for selfmedication through several home remedies change in diet and consume overthecounter otc medicines for at least two months before consulting a doctor ignorance fear and a sense of false safety are to be blamed for this he said when it comes to acidity ulcer or cancer the symptoms often overlap only a trained eye can make out the difference in recent years there has been a steep rise in the number of pancreatic cancer cases in the city added dr naresh bhat chief of medical services at aster cmi hospitalhealthy lifestyle a mustspeaking of overcoming the crisis he added early detection and specialized care are the only ways to fight this even the medical fraternity needs to undergo drastic changes in the way its members are educated the sense of diagnosis as provided by the medicine curriculum should be modified with evolution of diseasesregular exercise and a healthy lifestyle with balanced diet and lot of proteins are a must to avoid digestive disorders avoid too much of alcohol and go for screening and ultrasound of the abdomen at least once a year specific tests in the form of endoscopy colonoscopy are needed only if