There was a time where people were not able to identify the cause for the ailments, so they used to try the treatment, they know or they used to pry in different way or they used to practice some rituals or try with some plant products and so on. No one knows about the mechanism of action and the prognosis after giving the treatment for most of the ailments, but still they used to try the same because it was giving some mental satisfaction for the people and they used to feel that they are doing something to get cure for the ailment. But the advantages and the disadvantages of the same were not at all discussed in the gathering through debates as it was confined to one family and as they were not discussed in the media to receive the opinions about the same practice. It is not good to continue the same practice which are not going to give cure for the ailment in a proven way even if is not going to cause harm to the patient but it delays the time in seeking the suitable treatment by the patient and allows the disease to progress and it allows the disease to win in the race between the disease and the treatment to the extent of mortality / death or it may leave the life in a vegetative form with many morbidity. I think the leaders of the world will understand the seriousness behind this widely practiced unscientific rituals and its burden leading to increased mortality, morbidity, loss of workable days, economic loss through the healthcare both in private and public sector as it delays the initiation of treatment. In this chapter some of the practices that the people practice even in this era of science is mentioned and how these practices are going cause injury to the individual or to the society either directly or indirectly are mentioned.

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Contentsof section13: Model village andModel nation.
Chapter8-Facts and figuresonLife style practices.
8.1-F&F - De humanizingrituals.
8.2-F&F – ‘Thayatha’,tyingtreadaround.
8.3-F&F – Burning.
8.4-F&F – Branding.
8.5-F&F – Neemleavesas treatment.
8.6-F&F – ‘Tali’forchickenpox.
8.7-F&F – Brandingfordistensionof abdomen.
8.8-F&F – Applicationof ‘Kajol’.
8.9-F&F – Castoroil feeding.
8.10-F&F – Manipulatingthe breasttoexpressthe witchmilkandmake the new bornto endupwith
infectionof the breast.
8.11-F&F – Copperearring as the saverof the life.
8.12-F&F – Traditional practicesatmanysettings.
8.13-F&F – Traditional practice make delayininitiationof treatmentandmake the childtolandup in
complications.
8.14-F&F – Pneumoniatreatedwith‘branding’andbroughttothe hospital whenthe parentsrealizedthat
the childisnearingdeath.
8.15-F&F – Traditional practice foreverything,thusmake some children‘mentallyretarded’permanentlyin
theirlife’.
8.16-F&F – Traditional practice forthe reasonsunknown.
8.17-F&F – Brandingto all the possible partsof the body.
8.18-F&F – Will goto many doctorsto get the treatment,butwill notremove the cause –strong belief in
traditional practice.
8.19-F&F – Baby hasto suffer,butthe parentshave strongbelief intheirpractice.
8.20-F&F – Irritantsubstance aroundthe arm.
8.21-F&F – Immersingthe legof childintothe boilingoil –heightsof belief.
Views to make this ‘World’ developed and this ‘Earth’ as
the lovely place for every ‘Human’.
SECTION 13
MODEL VILLAGE AND
MODEL NATION
Shelter in a better way, for everyone;
Pollution free atmosphere and greenery everywhere;

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Life full of joy, prosperity and peace;
Chapter 8: Facts and figures on Life style practices.
8.1. . F&F - De humanizing rituals.
[De humanizing rituals:
Source: News paper.
Source: News paper.

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Source: News paper.
What experts says?
Source: News paper.]
With the establishment of VPA – MV only nationwide accepted practices will remain and the rest will
vanish automatically.
8.2. F&F – ‘Thayatha’, tying treadaround.

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Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices: Tying threads and ‘thayatha’, thinking that it will cure the disease.
8.3. F&F – Burning.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices:Branding(Burning) aroundthe umbilicusforachildwithPneumoniaindistress.Since
the baby had minimal distension of the abdomen due to respiratory distress, some problem with the
abdomenwasmade by the traditional practitionerandabdomen was burnt around the umbilicus and the
babywas broughtto the hospital atthe laststage waitingforfew daysfor the ‘burn’to act, since itwas not
worked out, they brought the child to hospital for treatment in respiratory failure. Delay in initiation of
treatment will lead to mortality / morbidity.
8.4. F&F – Branding.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices: Branding (Burning) at the sub coastal area for chest retraction, it was a case of
pneumonia with chest retraction.

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8.5. F&F – Neemleaves as treatment.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices:Tyingneemleavesaroundthe body,forviral exanthematousfever(e.g.Measles),if it
regressesspontaneouslywithoutanycomplication,thenitwillincreasethe faith in this type of practice in
the common people.
8.6. F&F – ‘Tali’ for chickenpox.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices: No treatment will be sought for the diseases like ‘chicken pox’, except for tying a
thread(Tali) aroundthe neck in ‘temple’. If the child ends up in some complication, then they may bring
the child to the hospital.

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8.7. F&F – Branding for distensionof abdomen.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.
PhotographybyDr. Shivu. ]
Branding (burning) all over the abdomen for gaseous distension of the abdomen. This baby was
swallowing lot of air during breast feeding due to faulty technique of feed and was not made
to burp after the feeding.
8.8. F&F – Applicationof ‘Kajol’.
PhotographybyDr. Shivu.

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PhotographybyDr. Shivu.
PhotographybyDr. Shivu.
Putting ‘kojol’ can lead to lead poisoning and anemia, blepharities (Infection of the eye lids),
epiphora (Continues weeping due to block of the lacrimal puncta) and so on.
8.9. F&F – Castor oil feeding.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
ThisCastrol mixedmilkwasfromthe stomachof the neonate,where the parents fed the child with castor
oil thinking that it will help the child to pass the motion, not knowing the thing that if it enters in to the
lung it can cause the death of the child through lipoid pneumonia.

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8.10. F&F – Manipulating the breast toexpress the witchmilk andmake the new
born to endup withinfectionof the breast.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices: Manipulating and expressing the witch milk from the baby’s breast will lead to
damage to the breast bud and can lead to infection and abscess, which makes the child to suffer and
requires the treatment.
8.11. F&F – Copper ear ring as the saver of the life.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices: Newborns will be immediately pierced with the copper ear ring, thinking that that
will save the life of the newborn.

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8.12. F&F – Traditional practices at many settings.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices: People will try the traditional way of treatment for all type of illnesses. If one
traditional practice doesnotwork,andthen will try another traditional practice, like this the parents will
try differenttype of traditional practice withdifferenttraditional practitioners, and they will tie different
typesof threads – thayathi – burning on any part of the body – and so on. This may continue till the child
reachesthe stage of neardeath, at that time they will remember the hospital and will go to some health
worker – then to the PHC – then to the Taluk hospital (Where ventilator may not be available) – then to
the districthospital (Where all the ventilatorsare occupied/some of themnot working/notavailableinall
the districts,especiallyforpediatricage group – thento some super specialty hospital. After all these the
child may recover without morbidity or may recover with morbidity or may die.
8.13. F&F – Traditional practice make delay in initiationof treatment andmake the
childto land up in complications.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices:People are notreadytogo the hospital early,whenthe disease is mild, instead they
will go more than a dozen of traditional practitioner. This picture will tell the number of traditional

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practitionersthatthe childmet,there are six threadstiedaroundthe neckwithvarietiesof things,another
six were tiedaroundthe arm – forearm– waist,bytwelve differenttraditional practitioners.Withall these
treadsaroundthe neckand withthe knots for the tread, it had caused pressure sore (Ulcer), which is not
completelyhealingasthe threadandthe knotsare notallowingthe ulcertoheal completely. This will tell
the duration of the illness, which is more than seven to ten days. People go for traditional practice for
variousreasonslike illiteracy, non accessibility of health care, these people feel that the hospital care is
costlyas theymay have to spendfewhundredsof rupeesfor medicine – travel – food and so on, but they
are ready to spend fifty to hundred rupees per sitting (For the materials used for worshipping and as
‘kanike’tothe traditional practitioner)fortentotwelve times(the total costmaycrossfew thousands,and
they will not mind it as they are not spending it in one sitting), availability of plenty of traditional
practitionersclose tothe house intheircommunity,the traditional practitionerspend more time with the
child/adult and speak in a better way than the doctors and the sisters in the hospital whom they do not
knowdue to frequenttransfers,someof the disease will spontaneouslyregress(e.g.fewviral illnessesand
some minorailments) evenwiththe treatmentwiththe traditional practitioner and the people will speak
good about such issues and this will add faith towards the traditional practice, so many believe that the
traditional practice will cure all the illnesses. Some of the traditional practices may be good like oil
massage for the child or installation of colostrum to the eye and so on, but that does not mean all the
traditional practicesare good and need to continue, it will drain the money of the nation as it delays the
initiation of treatment, creates the need more hospitalization and more morbidity – disability
rehabilitation.
8.14. F&F – Pneumonia treatedwith‘branding’ and brought to the hospital when
the parents realized that the child is nearing death.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices: Baby with pneumonia in respiratory distress, branding was done at the sub coastal
area for sub coastal retraction. Retraction persisted and wounds are also started healing, baby started
refusingthe feedsandbecame dull, so the parents got worried and brought the child to the hospital and
the baby was started with oxygen due to low oxygen level in the body (Hypoxia) with other necessary
treatment.If we lookat the age of branding,ittellsthat baby was pulling his life with respiratory distress
for quite a few days.

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8.15. F&F – Traditional practice for everything, thus make some children‘mentally
retarded’ permanently intheir life.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Traditional practices: This girl is from the border area of Karnataka and Tamilnadu, roamed for about six
yearsto hundredsof templesandto all the possible famoustraditionalpractitioners, before landing up to
our OPD,withthe historyof not speaking well and not active, she was dull looking, partially open mouth
with large tongue, hypotonic, low heart rate, cold to palpate, umbilical hernia, the diagnosis of
Hypothyroidismwasmade andthe investigationsrelatedtohypothyroidism were advised (T4, TSH). They
said they will get it done, and never turned back and then could not be traced.
PIN systemwill make ustotrace themeasily,andthus this physically and mentally retarded baby will get
the proper treatment with congenital hypothyroidism, where the physical and mental retardation could
have been prevented if it was recognized and treatment started early.
8.16. F&F – Traditional practice for the reasons unknown.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]

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Traditional practices: People tie varieties of things to make the child look differently according to their
culture and practice, which may cause some problem to the child.
8.17. F&F – Branding to all the possible parts of the body.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
People will not hesitate to brand any part of the baby, and this baby had an visible frontal sulcus and fro
that theybranded (Burnt) the fore head skin, and in long run as the sulcus closes spontaneously, people
and the traditional practitionerwillcontributethe closure of the frontal sulcus has happened because the
branding (Burning). Grave complication can occur if the burn is deep.
8.18. F&F – Will go to many doctors to get the treatment, but will not remove the
cause – strong belief intraditional practice.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Baby developedrashesand itching around the neck, so, the parents took the child to the doctor, and the
doctor told it is due to thread in the neck, remove the thread and apply the ointment. But the parents
were obsessed with the thread and were not ready to remove the tread so there were going to the

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differentdoctorswiththe same complaint,andone daytheylandedupin my OPD, and after enquiry they
took the ointment tube that was given by the other doctor from their bag. So, the people believe the
traditional practice more thananythingandtheyare not readyto change,and the babywas sufferingfrom
continuousdiscomfort, it was continuously scratching its neck and it was irritable. But the parents never
under stood the discomfort the child was suffering.
8.19. F&F – Baby has tosuffer, but the parents have strong belief intheir practice.
Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
Baby developedeczemaforthe threadstiedaroundthe leg.Parentstookthe childto many doctors, it was
not cured, and they were not ready to remove the thread, which will solve the problem.
8.20. F&F – Irritant substance aroundthe arm.

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Photography by Dr. Shivu.]
PhotographybyDr. Shivu.]Itisatype of irritanttiedaroundthe arms for some ailmentsof the child,
and the ailmentbecome well,now theyhave to get the treatment for skin problem, that is caused
by the irritant substance tied around the arm.

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8.21. F&F – Immersing the leg of childin to the boiling oil – heights of belief.
Source [153]
]
It isthe heightsof superstion.Immersingthe legsof the child in to the boiling oil to make the child
betteristhe cruelestmethodsof traditionalpractice.The childneedstosuffer with burns for many
days, till all the burn wounds heal.
Life style modificationisgoingtohappenwithVPA –MV – MN, the people of the next generation is
goingto followthe lifestyle which is most scientific, cheap, easy follow, acceptable for all, will not
harm oneself orthe others.Mostof the traditional practices which are not scientific, causing injury
to the oneself ortothe others,whichare notpractical,whichmake the people tospendmore either
directly or indirectly are going to vanish from this society.
Source;
[153] Times of India News paper, Mysore, page number 4, dated 13.5.09.