Diarrhea Folklore in Nicaragua

Diarrhea Folklore In Nicaragua

Traditional "folklore" explanations and treatments are common in communities without modern medical care. Nicaragua is no exception.

According to a recent study, at least 12 types of diarrhea are recognized by Nicaraguan mothers. A basic classification in a paediatric text usually lists only three causes depending on whether the infection is due a virus, a bacteria, or a parasite.

Even without exposure to routine modern health care, most Nicaraguan mothers recognize that diarrhea is mostly about hygiene. The table below lists the causes recognized by the mothers.

Spanish	English
por la suciedad	because of dirtiness
falta de higiene	lack of hygiene
por las moscas	because of flies
las pachas sucias	dirty baby bottles
manos sucias	dirty hands

Some mothers have the mistaken belief that diarrhea is due to a problem with breastmilk. According to this erroneous belief, breast milk can be spoiled by eating cabbages or avocado during breast feeding, excessive maternal exposure to heat or sun, strong emotion or sadness, or breastfeeding while pregnant. Based on this folklore, Nicaraguan mothers sometimes stop breastfeeding, which makes the illness worse.

The table below lists the symptoms of diarrhea described by mothers.

Spanish	English
obra churre	bowel movements are loose
le pega llorazon en la barriga	belly cries
como si fuera agua	as if it were water
obra exigido	child has demanding defecations
obra seguido	child defecates continuously
ensucia mas de lo necesario	child dirties more than necessary
le pega maleza en el estomago	stomach becomes ill
obra ralo	child defecates liquid
obra demasiado	excessive defecations
se le afloja el estomago	stomach is loose

A small percentage of Nicaraguan mothers believe in causes that are not conventional. The table below lists some of these folklore causes.

Spanish	English
ojo	caused by the evil eye
pujo	caused by the presence of a drunk or sweating person or a woman in her first pregnancy
colerin	from eating pork from a pig that was enraged "con la colera del animal"

Folklore about parasitic infestation is common. The blood and pus in the stool is because the parasite knows how to bite the intestine. Children with parasites sleep with their eyes open, grind their teeth, drool, and eat but do not gain weight. The full moon stimulates parasites to move around in the intestine. Garlic is a good remedy and can be worn around the neck or rubbed on the belly.

Folklore treatments are common and the confidence of the mothers in these interventions is sometimes greater than their confidence in modern medical interventions. Folklore interventions include camomile, guava in leaves, bark and buds, hibiscus roots, granate, sago starch, achote, guasimo, and cinnamon.

Reference
Vázquez ML, Mosquera M, Kroeger A. People's concepts on diarrhea and dehydration in Nicaragua: the difficulty of the intercultural dialogue. Bras. Saude Mater. Infant. vol.2 no.3 Recife Sept./Dec. 2002.