Assessment of cultural beliefs and practices during the postnatal period in an urban field practice area of SRMC, Nandyal, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh

Background: The postpartum period continues to be an important part of the tradition and culture among Indian women. But frequently the health of the postnatal women is neglected. So, the present study aimed to explore the beliefs and practices in the postpartum period regarding diet, rest, hygiene, confinement and assess association between cultural practices and socio demographic characteristics.Methods: A cross‐sectional descriptive study was conducted in the field practice area of urban SRMC Nandyal. The participants were women who had given births in the past three months. The data was collected using a pre‐tested semi‐structured questionnaire.Results: Among the 140 women, over 75% of women had increased their diet intake postpartum. Vegetables such as brinjal and fruits like papaya were avoided by 58.5% and 63.6% women respectively. Among the mothers 18.3% consumed less than 500 ml of water every day and 22% did not drink milk at all. Household work was avoided by 67% of the women while 79.6% avoided going outdoors. Many women didn’t maintain personal hygiene. Many women took home remedies for faster recuperation. These practices were influenced by the socioeconomic status and the woman’s educational status.Conclusions: Traditional postpartum practices are still popular among women in rural and slum areas in Andhra Pradesh. It is critical to identify the harmful practices and reinforce the positive healthy practices to make postpartum period a healthy and joyful period for the mother.

Conocimiento tradicional de las vendedoras de plantas medicinales de la ciudad de Sucre-Bolivia / Traditional knowledge of the medicines of medicinal plants of the city of Sucre-Bolivia

En Bolivia se práctica la medicina tradicional por su alta diversidad cultural y biológica. Las plantas medicinales son comercializadas en Sucre-Bolivia mediante puestos urbanos atendidos por mujeres de origen quechua y castellano el objetivo es saber los conocimientos y usos de las plantas medicinales. La recolección de información fue por medio de entrevistas, con cinco preguntas básicas en los meses de julio-agosto. Se identificó que las señoras que tienen puesto fijo tienen de 90 a 110 especies de plantas medicinales y las señoras ambulantes que en su mayoría se encuentran en el mercado campesino tienen poca variedad de plantas medicinales de 5 a 10 especies, estas ambulantes en su totalidad son de orígenes indígenas es porque ellas siembran y cosechan sus propias plantas que en este caso son plantas con características medicinales en cambio las que tienen puesto fijo, también son las que tienen más años de experiencia traen plantas de La Paz (yungas), Cochabamba ya que estas ciudades producen mayor cantidad de plantas medicinales, también son traídas de los alrededores de sucre como Yotala, Icla, Jatun Mayu, Ravelo y del valle que son exportadas para su venta. Es así que estos recursos genéticos representan oportunidades para impulsar el desarrollo económico, enmarcado dentro la sostenibilidad y equidad social.

In Bolivia, traditional medicine is practiced because of its high cultural and biological diversity. The medicinal plants are commercialized in Sucre-Bolivia through urban posts served by women of Quechua and Spanish origin. The objective is to know the knowledge and uses of the medicinal plants. The information was collected through interviews, with five basic questions in the months of July-August. It was identified that the ladies who have a fixed position have 90 to 110 species of medicinal plants and the traveling ladies who are mostly in the peasant market have little variety of medicinal plants of 5 to 10 species, these ambulants in their entirety are of indigenous origins it is because they sow and harvest their own plants that in this case are plants with medicinal characteristics instead those that have a fixed position, they are also those that have more years of experience bring plants from La Paz (yungas), Cochabamba since These cities produce more medicinal plants, they are also brought from the surroundings of Sucre such as Yotala, Icla, Jatun Mayu, Ravelo and the valley that are exported for sale. Thus, these genetic resources represent opportunities to boost economic development, framed within sustainability and social equity.

De remedios y pócimas: las medicinas en el Quito del siglo 18 / Of remedies and potions: the medicines in the 18th century Quito

Contexto: para conocer la historia de un pueblo, es necesario analizar su espíritu y costumbre, por medio de los cuales se puede comprender su pensamiento que lo identifica y valora dándole su propia razón de ser. Una de las más importantes actividades tiene relación con la forma de preservar su salud, fundamento vital de vida y existencia; en tal virtud este análisis permite conocer la tradición quiteña relacionada con el uso de plantas medicinales y sus diferentes aplicaciones. Objetivo: por medio de esta investigación histórica, detallar el uso de pócimas y plantas medicinales empleados por los llamados médicos y curanderos del Quito del siglo XVIII, con el fin de contrarrestar las enfermedades más comunes que afectaban a los quiteños. Discusión y análisis: son pocos los estudios históricos y antropológicos sobre la materia, lo cual no permite realizar un análisis comparativo con el fin de lograr mejores conclusiones. Posiblemente la dificultad para acceder a fuentes primarias localizadas en archivos especializados sea la causa para esta falencia. Por otro lado, la historia social relacionada con la Medicina es muy relativa, debido a que los historiadores han dado poca importancia a tan valioso tema, con lo cual bien se podría entender de mejor manera el pensamiento del siglo XVIII. Una de las razones, probablemente, tiene relación con el hecho de que para la época, quienes se dedicaban a curar, eran menospreciados, razón por la que el oficio de médico era practicado por mestizos y gente de clase media baja, lo que no permitió dejar mayores evidencias escritas con el fin de comprender como se trataban y curaban las enfermedades, siendo la medicina popular, que subsiste hasta nuestros días, la única evidencia para comprender ligeramente los procedimientos médicos practicados en el lejano siglo colonial de nuestro análisis. Conclusión: la historia de la Medicina en el Ecuador ha sido tratada en contadas ocasiones por médicos profesionales, quienes se han dedicado con admirable paciencia a recoger todo cuanto detalle les ha sido posible localizar sobre todo en los archivos del antiguo hospital San Juan de Dios de la capital ecuatoriana; en igual forma, han podido ubicar ciertos datos que la historia social y política del país no la han tomado en cuenta. Para ello han recurrido al valioso archivo histórico de la Universidad Central del Ecuador, el cual guarda y conserva verdaderas joyas documentales sobre la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; sin embargo, no existen estudios especializados sobre la farmacopea popular, base fundamental para comprender el estado de salud de los quiteños que habitaron en el siglo 18. Descriptores DeCs: historia del Ecuador, historia de la medicina, farmacopea, remedios caseros, siglo 18, Quito (AU)

Context: to know the history of the people, it is necessary to analyze their spirit and customs, by means of which they can understand their thought that identifies and values them by giving them their own reason for being. One of the most important activities is related to the way of preserving their health, vital foundation of life and existence. In this virtue, this analysis allows knowing the tradition of Quito related to the use of medicinal plants and their different applications. Objective: through this historical investigation, to detail the use of potions and medicinal plants used by the so-called doctors and healers of the eighteenth century Quito, in order to counteract the most common diseases affecting the people of Quito. Discussion and analysis: there are few historical and anthropological studies on the subject, which does not allow a comparative analysis in order to achieve better conclusions. Possibly the difficulty to access primary sources located in specialized files is the cause for this failure. On the other hand, social history related to Medicine is very relative, because historians have given little importance to such a valuable subject, which could well be understood in the eighteenth century thought. One of the reasons, probably, is related to the fact that for the time, those who were dedicated to cure, were despised, reason why the doctor's office was practiced by mestizos and people of lower middle class, which did not allow leave more written evidence in order to understand how diseases were treated and cured, being popular medicine, which subsists to our days, the only evidence to understand slightly the medical procedures practiced in the distant colonial century of our analysis. Conclusion: the history of Medicine in Ecuador has been treated on rare occasions by professional doctors, who have devoted themselves with admirable patience to collect all the details they have been able to locate; especially in the archives of the old San Juan de Dios hospital at the Ecuadorian capital. In the same way, they have been able to locate certain data that the social and political history of the country has not taken into account. For this they have resorted to the valuable historical archive of the Central University of Ecuador, which keeps and preserves true documentary gems about the Faculty of Medical Sciences. However, there are no specialized studies on the popular pharmacopoeia, a fundamental basis for understanding the state of health of the people of Quito who lived in the 18th century. (AU)

Home Remedies For Oral Diseases

Self-help through self-treatment makes a countless contribution. Home remedy use is a component of health self-management, particularly among people who have experienced limited access to medical care or discrimination by the health care system. Self-care using home remedies survived for long time and it surely give effect in the easiest, safest, fastest and cheapest way. Oral diseases are a significant public health burden in India as well as across the globe. The consequence of poor oral health deteriorates the individual health and wellbeing, decrease economic productivity, and act as significant risk factors for other systemic health ailments. Developing countries have more diverse health systems than developed countries and expenditure in oral health care is low, access to Dental healthcare is limited and restricted to emergency Dental care or pain relief. Moreover, allopathic medicine is expensive and these chemicals can have adverse effects. Hence, there is a need for alternative products and natural extracts obtained from plants which are safe and biocompatible can be considered as good alternatives. In such circumstances use of home remedies would meet the need for treating minor ailments safely. Home remedies are good and comparable methods of equal value which have met the scientific and regulatory criteria for safety and effectiveness. The purpose of this review was to evaluate some of the commonly available foods being utilized in the treatment of oral diseases at home.

Nests of "caba-leão" wasps (Sceliphron sp., Sphecidae) used in traditional medicine by riverine communities of the Jaú and Unini Rivers, Amazon, Brazil: ethnopharmacological, chemical and mineralogical aspects

ABSTRACT This research contributes to the study of substances present in homemade remedies used by the riverine communities of the Amazon, which are the result of insect-mineral-vegetable oil-interaction. The results of the analyses show the main components (inorganic and organic components) of the "caba-leão" wasps nests (Sceliphron sp., Sphecidae) used by "caboclos" as a topical medication to treat mumps and earaches. The ethnopharmacological data collection consisted of samples of wasps nests and soil, as a source of inorganic elements, from the Jaú and Unini Rivers, in the River Negro basin, Amazon, Brazil. The samples were qualitatively analyzed by infrared spectroscopy (organic and inorganic composition) as well as by X-ray diffraction (to identify minerals). Quantitative chemical analyses for ten major common elements were determined by X-ray fluorescence. The inorganic components are formed by minerals (quartz, kaolinite, illite and gibbsite), identified by X-ray diffraction and Infrared spectroscopy, which are common in the soil of the region. The analyses by X-ray fluorescence indicate that the most common oxides are SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 within minerals. This research contributed to the study of substances found in homemade remedies used by the riverine communities of the Amazon, which are the result of insect-mineral-vegetable oil-interaction.

Herbolaria migrante boliviana en un contexto periurbano del Noroeste Argentino / Herbal medicine used by Bolivian migrants in a peri-urban context in Northwest Argentina

Se estudió la herbolaria de una población migrante boliviana de un barrio de la ciudad de San Salvador de Jujuy (Jujuy, Argentina) que sufre notorias condiciones de vulnerabilidad social y sanitaria, así como fuertes procesos de estigmatización. Desde una aproximación etnobotánica, se realizaron entrevistas abiertas y semiestructuradas a personas adultas. Se relevaron 89 especies medicinales empleadas para el tratamiento de 43 dolencias. Las más consensuadas fueron Matricaria chamomilla, "manzanilla" (62%) y Ruta chalepensis, "ruda" (50%). Se distinguieron cinco ambientes de recolección de plantas siendo el más importante "casa y alrededores" (46%). Gran parte de las especies seleccionadas son adaptógenas (plantas generadoras de bienestar, empleadas para el stress). La herbolaria casera parece ser una alternativa terapéutica clave de los bolivianos en Jujuy permitiéndoles a las familias sobrellevar situaciones difíciles de stress, desarraigo y discriminación. Esta información puede ser útil para las instituciones de salud con el fin de mejorar la atención y el diagnóstico en situaciones de incertidumbre.

A study was undertaken of the herbolarium of a migrant Bolivian population living in San Salvador de Jujuy (Jujuy, Argentina) in conditions of marked social and health vulnerability; they also suffer strong stigmatization processes. Using an ethnobotanical approach, open and semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults. A total of 89 medicinal species were recorded, which were used to treat 43 ailments. The plants with the highest consensus were Matricaria chamomilla, "manzanilla" (chamomile) (62%) and Ruta chalepensis, "ruda" (50%). Five plant resource gathering environments were identified, the most important being "dwelling and surroundings" (46%). A large proportion of the plant species selected are adaptogens (plants that generate wellbeing, used to deal with stress). Home prepared herbal medicine appears to be a key therapeutic option for Bolivians in Jujuy, enabling families to endure difficult situations associated with stress, separation from family roots, and discrimination. This information can be of use to health institutions, with the aim of improving care and diagnosis in situations of uncertainty.