Branding treatment of children in rural India should be banned
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《英国医生杂志》
EDITOR—Branding or inflicting burns over the body as a remedy for various illnesses is a harmful practice prevalent in rural India. The common instrument used is a heated metal piece, and the main ailments include pneumonia, jaundice, and convulsions. Children, including neonates, are worst affected by this superstitious practice, which causes serious morbidity and delays in seeking proper medical care.1-3
Many children under 5 years of age who attended the out patient department of Jawaharlal Institute Rural Health Centre at Ramanathapuram village in Pondicherry were noted to have scars from branding over the chest. Subsequently, a house to house survey of the entire village was done to study the problem.
Branding treatment (reproduced with consent of parent)
Of 144 children under 5 years, 20 had been branded for either pneumonia or convulsions, and eight had been branded prophylactically against pneumonia. All of them belonged to Hindu families, illiterate parents, and families in lower socioeconomic groups.
In depth interviews with the parents of the branded children and discussions in two focus groups including non-formal leaders, youth, and social workers of the village were conducted in the local language (Tamil) about this practice.
All 28 children had been branded by a native healer in another village Ariyankuppam, 10 km away. One of the branding sessions was also witnessed (figure). The people believed that the evil potion comes out through the branding sites, curing the disease. Most of the parents interviewed were also branded in their childhood, and there is a tendency for this practice to be followed through generations.
Inflicting burns on normal children is a non-scientific painful procedure and is unacceptable. The practice of putting saliva and ash or herbal paste on burn wounds adds to the morbidity.
The prevalence of these superstitious practices during a period of advancing medical technology calls for more vigorous efforts for health education and provision of better health services for the rural population. Stringent laws should be enforced to ban this harmful practice.4
B Adhisivam, senior resident, department of paediatrics
adhisivam1975@yahoo.co.uk, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry 605 006, India
Roy Gowtham, professor, department of preventive and social medicine
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry 605 006, India
Competing interests: None declared.
References
Kushwaha KP, Mathur GP, Mathur S, Singh YD, Sati TR. Superstitious therapy during illness of preschool children. Ind Pediatr 1986;23: 163-8.
Taneja DK, Singhal PK, Dharana S. Superstitions in pediatric illness among rural mothers. Ind Pediatr 1988;25: 447-52.
Mohapatra SS. Branding—a prevalent harmful practice in neonatal care. Ind Pediatr 1991;28: 683-4.
Mehta MH, Anand JS, Mehta L, Modha HS, Patel RV. Neonatal branding—towards branding eradication. Ind Pediatr 1991;29: 788-9.
Many children under 5 years of age who attended the out patient department of Jawaharlal Institute Rural Health Centre at Ramanathapuram village in Pondicherry were noted to have scars from branding over the chest. Subsequently, a house to house survey of the entire village was done to study the problem.
Branding treatment (reproduced with consent of parent)
Of 144 children under 5 years, 20 had been branded for either pneumonia or convulsions, and eight had been branded prophylactically against pneumonia. All of them belonged to Hindu families, illiterate parents, and families in lower socioeconomic groups.
In depth interviews with the parents of the branded children and discussions in two focus groups including non-formal leaders, youth, and social workers of the village were conducted in the local language (Tamil) about this practice.
All 28 children had been branded by a native healer in another village Ariyankuppam, 10 km away. One of the branding sessions was also witnessed (figure). The people believed that the evil potion comes out through the branding sites, curing the disease. Most of the parents interviewed were also branded in their childhood, and there is a tendency for this practice to be followed through generations.
Inflicting burns on normal children is a non-scientific painful procedure and is unacceptable. The practice of putting saliva and ash or herbal paste on burn wounds adds to the morbidity.
The prevalence of these superstitious practices during a period of advancing medical technology calls for more vigorous efforts for health education and provision of better health services for the rural population. Stringent laws should be enforced to ban this harmful practice.4
B Adhisivam, senior resident, department of paediatrics
adhisivam1975@yahoo.co.uk, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry 605 006, India
Roy Gowtham, professor, department of preventive and social medicine
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry 605 006, India
Competing interests: None declared.
References
Kushwaha KP, Mathur GP, Mathur S, Singh YD, Sati TR. Superstitious therapy during illness of preschool children. Ind Pediatr 1986;23: 163-8.
Taneja DK, Singhal PK, Dharana S. Superstitions in pediatric illness among rural mothers. Ind Pediatr 1988;25: 447-52.
Mohapatra SS. Branding—a prevalent harmful practice in neonatal care. Ind Pediatr 1991;28: 683-4.
Mehta MH, Anand JS, Mehta L, Modha HS, Patel RV. Neonatal branding—towards branding eradication. Ind Pediatr 1991;29: 788-9.