Stress is pushing students to the edge this exam season. The pressure to score more has eroded children’s health with some on the verge of developing serious medical conditions. A few others are resorting to sleeping pills.

Eighteen-year-old Sarita (name changed), preparing for second-year PUC board exams scheduled in March, was facing severe menstrual bleeding for the last two months. None of the medicines worked on her.

Finally, her mother took her to a leading homoeopathy practitioner who realised that her problem was psychological in nature. Sarita was diagnosed with severe examination anxiety. After three days of consultation and counselling, there was an improvement in her condition.

Dr B T Rudresh said, “The girl’s condition was shocking. She was suffering from a horrible case of examination fear. It took me a few days to boost her confidence. We managed to resolve the problem after three days of continuous medication and counselling.”

Doctors say they witness many such cases involving both physical and psychological problems due to exam pressure. “Most students complain of fever, severe headache, low appetite, acidity and sleeplessness. Though they are due to tension, we need to give them medication,” said Dr Chetan Rao, a private practitioner.

Dr Rudresh said that though the exams begin in March, he has been seeing such cases since January itself.

Some students are addicted to sleeping pills and stress relief pills, and try to source them online.

Bharathi Singh, founder of Sa-Mudra Foundation, said, “During counselling, we came across cases where children were resorting to pills to overcome stress. These pills are bought from online portals. Parents need to keep an eye on this.”

Many students are flocking to counsellors also. Some of the counsellors in the city said they have seen at least five students and received about 8-9 calls on helplines in the last few weeks.

Bharathi Singh said the solution lies in putting an end to unhealthy competition.