As India reels under intense heatwave, the sales of dehydration-preventing drink Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) are zooming. The sales have spiked this sweltering May by over 20 per cent compared to last year, the data by Pharmatrac shows.
One of the most significant health impacts of high temperatures is diarrhoea, which results in the loss of excessive water and electrolytes recovered by cheap and effective ORS.
According to the trend data shared by Pharmatrac, the market of ORS has a seasonal trend wherein consumption increases from February as the temperatures soar. While monsoons are set in June and July, the consumption stays on the higher side as a lot of water-borne diseases are set in monsoons leading to ailments like dysentery and diarrhoea which also need oral electrolyte consumption during treatment, a Pharmatrac spokesperson said.
ORS is created by mixing readily available ingredients at any home and reduces the need for hospitalisation from dehydration following diarrhoeal diseases.
Although temperatures in India typically reach their highest in May and June, this season has seen more than twice the usual number of heatwave days in the northwestern and eastern regions. Parts of the country have reached new record highs where two areas in Delhi also recorded 49.9 degrees Celsius the day before, marking an all-time high for the city.
What Does Data Say?
The data shows that in the month of May this year, the market sold 6.8 crore sachets of ORS solution worth Rs 84 crore. In comparison, last year, it sold 5.8 crore units in May, worth Rs 69 crore.
The moving annual turnover (MAT) of ORS has more than doubled in the last four years. The moving annual turnover (MAT) for May 2020 stood at Rs 334 crore which swelled to Rs 716 crore in May 2024 – more than doubled. Whereas in last May, MAT stood at Rs 583 crore.
FDC Limited’s Electral is the biggest brand in the ORS market with more than 50 percent of the market share followed by FDC’s Enerzal and Wallace Pharmaceuticals’ Walyte. Out of the total sales, brand Electral sold 3.6 crore sachets worth Rs 41 crore.
Why is ORS Important?
A Lancet editorial in 1978 termed ORS as “potentially the most important medical advance this century.”
Experts call it a biggest advantage because it requires no expertise or medical knowledge, and, hence, it saves lives even in remote parts of the world with no healthcare access.
According to Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, ORS has a fascinating mechanism of working. He explained that the composition of the solution helps the body absorb vital electrolytes, energy and water all at the same time. “It is like getting a full-fledged IV drip. The mechanism is a sodium-glucose co-transporter in the gut, that carries one molecule of glucose with every molecule of sodium that’s absorbed.”
Overconsumption Can Make You Ill
While ORS has several advantages, Dr Yatin Mehta from Medanta advised to apply caution in certain cases.
Mehta, who is a chairman at the Institute of Critical Care and anaesthesiology at Medanta, Gurugram, said that ORS should be alternated with plain water or coconut water. “Also if you have significant heart disease, kidney disease or electrolyte disturbances, check with your doctor before consuming. Also, you should take only in small but frequent amounts,” he added.
Echoing similar concerns, Dr Sumit Ray, medical director at Holy Family Hospital, New Delhi, told News18 that excessive ORS can increase or decrease sodium in the body, depending on how much of it is taken along with which other fluid.
“It also has potassium, and those with some forms of kidney disease may get high potassium levels from an inability to excrete the excess potassium. It also contains glucose and this can cause high sugar levels in diabetics if taken in inappropriately high amounts,” Ray said.
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