Expat suffers kidney damage after drinking water from tap

Manama : A man, in his fifties, has claimed that he suffered kidney damage due to tap water poisoning. 

“If I was not treated at the right time, I would have died,” Jayan, a 53-year-old Indian national, told DT News yesterday. 

Jayan claims he initially experienced milder symptoms but his condition worsened, leading to kidney damage. Even his heart was affected. He said his flatmates too suffered from illness related to tap water poisoning but their symptoms were more milder. 

“I came to Bahrain on June 16 after I got a job as a sales representative. The job offered to me came with a decent salary and other benefits such as a company provided car and added bonuses. However, after I came here I found that the company was not properly run. They did not pay salary on time, after one month of working there I did not get paid. I depended on my friends to provide me with food. I just ate bread and drank water. One night in the beginning of July, I drank water from the tap because we did not have any purified water at our apartment. Not long after that I fell ill, I went to the hospital and the doctors conducted tests on me and found that my case was getting quite serious. I suffered from kidney damage and the doctors asked me to be on dialysis and even my heart health came under risk. The doctors confirmed that I was poisoned from the contaminated water. I was already weak from not eating enough food. That is why I was so seriously affected by it,” Jayan said.

“I am lucky that I visited the hospital quickly without wasting time. If I stayed back, ignored my illness and tried to go to sleep, I may not have survived,” he said. He said his flatmates recovered quickly.

“My flatmates immediately vomited after drinking the water. The fact that I did not vomit meant that the water was absorbed by my body and caused the damage,” he said.

Indian Social workers including Chandran Thikkodi and Rajeevan helped to find donations to buy an air ticket for Jayan’s flight back to India. “I will be traveling tomorrow back to India for further treatment.” he said.