Tamil Nadu’s grand old man of politics and DMK chief Karunanidhi was admitted to the Kauvery Hospital in Alwarpet in Chennai at 5:45am on Thursday to continue medical treatment for his allergic reactions to drugs.
A press release by the hospital said that the former CM has been admitted for ‘optimization of nutrition’ and ‘hydration’. He is stable, being treated by a team of doctors and will be in hospital for a few days, the release said.
The 92-year-old patriarch was already under treatment and had been advised rest by doctors. On October 25, the party announced that he was ill due to a drug-induced allergy, and asked members to avoid visiting him.
The drugs he was allergic to, were those he was regularly taking.
Since then, Karunanidhi has been taking rest. Images of him released later, also show increased swelling all over his body, which is said to be a symptom of his allergic reaction.
Sources say that the first family of the DMK had been considering the option of admitting him to the hospital for several days now, and that the decision was finally taken late on Wednesday night.
Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa has also been admitted to the Apollo Hospital since September 22. She was admitted initially for ‘fever and dehydration’, but it later emerged that she required serious medical intervention including respiratory support.
There has been no official update on Jayalalithaa’s health for several weeks now, although Apollo Hospitals chairman Prathap Reddy told the media recently that she is recovering quickly and can be discharged if she wants.