7-7
DISCOVERING WHICH HEALTH TRADITIONS ARE
BENEFICIAL AND WHICH MAY BE HARMFUL
Helping people to look closely at their
habits and customs is an important
part of working toward a healthier
community.
In every community there are some
habits and traditions that are helpful.
Others help little. And some probably are
harmful. Often the people themselves
are not sure which are truly helpful and
which might be harmful.
EXAMPLE OF A HELPFUL REMEDY
using cactus to control bleeding and
as a clean bandage
DO
IT.
A health worker can help people
examine their traditional ways of
meeting health needs. Perhaps
together they can work out guidelines
for deciding whether particular home
remedies are helpful or might cause
harm.
The following guidelines were
developed with villagers in Mexico.
How do they apply in your area? (For a
fuller discussion, see Where There Is
No Doctor, p. 10.)
EXAMPLE OF A HARMLESS REMEDY
(or not very helpful)
tying
a crab
to a
goiter
DO
IT IF
YOU
WANT.
Ways to tell if a home remedy is
beneficial or harmful:
1. The more remedies there are for
any one illness, the less likely it is
that any of them works.
2. Foul or disgusting remedies are not
likely to help-and are often harmful.
3. Remedies that use animal or human
waste usually do no good, and can
cause dangerous infections. Never use
them.
4. The more a remedy resembles the
sickness it is said to cure, the more
likely that its benefits come only from
the power of belief.
EXAMPLE OF A HARMFUL REMEDY
putting human shit around the eye to
cure blurred vision
DO
NOT
DO
IT!
When discussing the strengths and weaknesses of local traditions with people,
be sure to place more emphasis on the traditions that are helpful. This will help
people gain confidence in their own knowledge and abilities, rather than making them
feel ashamed.