Psychological disorders mount among Türkiye, Syria earthquake survivors

Doctors in a
Turkish field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun have said
they are treating increasing numbers of patients suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks after last
week’s earthquake.

“Initially the patients … were those who sustained
injuries under the rubble… now more of the patients are coming
with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), following all the shock
that they’ve gone through during the earthquake and what they
have seen,” said Indian Army Major Beena Tiwari.

Many people were coming with panic attacks, she added.

The combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria exceeds 41,000 as of Wednesday morning,
and the earthquake and aftershocks have destroyed whole cities
in both countries, leaving survivors homeless in the bitter
cold, with many struggling to find shelter and basic sanitation.

The extent of the trauma survivors have experienced is
enormous. Some have been pulled from the rubble after hours in
the cold and darkness to discover family members have died or
are missing, and the busy neighbourhoods where they lived have
been reduced to mounds of shattered concrete.

Tiwari is part of a team of almost 100 experts from India
who established a field hospital to treat survivors of the
earthquake, one of the worst in Türkiye’s modern history after a
local hospital was destroyed.

READ MORE: Coping with earthquake trauma: Take a break from the news, seek help

‘Psychological first aid’

PTSD is caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing
events, and people with PTSD can relive the traumatic event
through nightmares and flashbacks, and may have difficulties
sleeping and concentrating.

“People only now are starting to realise what happened to
them after this shock period,” said a Turkish medical official.

Across the border in Syria, a makeshift centre run by UNICEF
provided children with “psychological first aid”, encouraging
them to play and feel safe.

Staying at the shelter was 9-year-old Ahmad.

“With any loud voice or movement, he gets scared. Sometimes
when he is asleep he wakes up and says ‘earthquake’,” said his
father Hassan Moath.

READ MORE: ‘Are we going to die?’: Trauma haunts children who survived Türkiye quakes

Infectious diseases

Iskenderun hospital commander Yaduvir Singh said they were
also seeing more patients with infectious diseases and upper
respiratory infections, and the thousands of people living in
tents outside in freezing temperatures would be suffering hard.

“Initially, we were having lots of trauma cases, people who
were buried in the rubble for a long time, for 72 hours, for 90
hours,” he said.

“On one person we had to do an amputation to save his life
… there were life and limb-saving surgeries. Now the case
profile is changing.”

The World Health Organization has launched a $43 million
appeal to provide trauma care and rehabilitation, essential
medicines, mental and psychosocial support, and to continue
routine health services in Türkiye.

“The needs are huge, increasing by the hour. Some 26 million
people across both countries need humanitarian assistance,” said
the WHO’s Europe Director Hans Kluge in a statement.

“Just over a week since this terrible tragedy, there are also growing concerns over emerging health issues linked to the cold weather, hygiene and sanitation, and the spread of infectious diseases,” he added.

READ MORE: More than 7 million children affected by Türkiye-Syria earthquakes: Unicef