Analysis of Patients Presenting with Dhat Syndrome and its Impact on Society

Context Misconceptions in relation to semen loss induces physical and psychological symptoms in a man which is termed as dhat syndrome. Aims To find out the most predisposed group for dhat syndrome, its impact on their life, their surroundings and the whole society and what could be done to relieve them of their sufferings. Settings and design Patients presenting with dhat syndrome were enquired about their demographic profile, clinical profile and its impact on their lives. Their counseling was done and the effect of counseling was observed. Method and material In this study, 110 patients who presented in urology clinic of our institute during January 2015 to October 2015 with primary complaint of dhat were enquired about their demographic profile, clinical profile and their beliefs. To find the impact of their sufferings, they were asked few questions and the response was recorded as never, sometimes, regular. They were then counseled and sex education was imparted to them. Patients were then called for follow up after one week and again the same questions were asked. Statistical analysis Descriptive analyses were analyzed in terms of mean and standard deviation for continuous variables. Frequency with percentage was used for nominal variables. Results Dhat syndrome most commonly affected men who were in the age group 18-25 (60 %), were unemployed or students (49.1 %), were unmarried (70 %), lived in rural area (63.6 %), were either living alone (54.5 %) or in nuclear family (30 %), had low monthly income. It was also common in people with good educational status (50 % graduate or above). Dhat syndrome had severe detrimental effects on every sphere of its sufferers life. Counseling, correction of misbeliefs and reassurance only brought excellent results. Conclusion Dhat syndrome is prevalent in a specific strata of population and have severe detrimental effects. Counseling, correction of misbeliefs and reassurance alone bring dramatic improvement in physical, mental and social health of the patients.