In a shocking incident, an oil massage became a cause of death for a 23-year-old in New Delhi. According to the doctors in AIIMS, an oil massage can kill too if given to a wrong patient or in a wrong manner.
According to a Times of India report, the victim, a resident of Delhi, had injured his left ankle while playing badminton last year after which a plaster of Paris slab was placed on it to immobilise the leg, which resulted in the formation of a blood clot in his deep veins.
A postmortem confirmed that the clot, which was 5X1cm in size, got dislodged from the leg veins and travelled to the pulmonary artery that supplies blood to the lungs, causing instant death.
According to the doctors, the 23-year-old was rushed to AIIMS emergency on October 31 and he was unconscious and unresponsive. Doctors could not revive him. Later, it was found that the victim’s mother had given him a massage for 30 minutes after he complained of pain in the left calf. That left him breathless and he suddenly collapsed. This was because the clot in his leg travelled to the arteries that supply blood to the lungs.
The incident came to light after the youth’s case report was published in the latest issue of Medico-Legal Journal. It stated that massages are often given for general fitness and for treating minor health problems.
Dr Sudhir Gupta, professor and head of forensic medicine at AIIMS, said the youth’s death should serve as a warning against massages by amateurs. “Using forceful techniques and for prolonged periods in a patient with deep vein thrombosis can lead to fatal complications,” he said.
