A Randomized Clinical Trial on Therapeutic Effects of Myrtus communis L. Cream on Chronic Skin Lesions and Quality of Life of Sulfur Mustard-exposed Veterans

Abstract: Sulfur mustard is one of the chemical warfare agent. It rapidly reacts with the cutaneous tissues and other tissues, leading to various devastating long-term effects on human health. Mustard-exposed veterans suffer from its chronic skin problems, including itching, burning sensation, and eczema. We aimed to evaluate the protective effects of Myrtus communis L. (myrtle) on chronic skin lesions and quality of life of sulfur mustard-exposed veterans. In this randomized, double-blind clinical trial, 60 sulfur mustard-exposed patients were evaluated. Thirty patients received myrtle essence 5% cream (case group) and 30 patients received Eucerin cream (placebo group) twice in a day for one month. Then, We assessed the chronic skin problems and itching-related parameters (such as the itching time, severity, distribution, frequency, and calculated itching score), duration of sleep, number of waking up at night, and quality of life in the both groups. Our analysis of data revealed that application of myrtle cream effectively decreased skin problems including; itching and burning sensation. Additionally, myrtle markedly decreased skin lesion symptoms such as excoriation in the case group as compared with before treatment. Noticeably, myrtle cream significantly improved quality of life of the patients in the case group. The present study provides more in-depth information regarding the protective role of myrtle on the sulfur mustard-induces skin complication. Also, myrtle effectively improved quality of life of the sulfur mustard-exposed veterans.

La potencia de la noción de resistencia para el campo de la salud mental: Un estudio de caso sobre la vida campesina en el conflicto armado colombiano / The power of the notion of resistance in the mental health field: a case study on the life of rural communities whitin the Colombian armed conflict

El objetivo de este estudio es identificar las respuestas individuales, familiares y/o comunitarias para resistir en un contexto de conflicto armado prolongado. Se realizó un estudio de caso con población campesina de San Francisco, oriente antioqueño colombiano, que combinó los enfoques etnográfico y biográfico. Los principales resultados muestran que, a la par del sufrimiento, los campesinos desplegaron un repertorio de resistencias múltiples y diversas, como expresión de respuesta activa y estrategia para re-tejer los hilos rotos que dejó dicha experiencia. La resistencia, en su carácter de oposición afirmativa, es una categoría potente para el campo de la salud mental, toda vez que resalta la creatividad y la capacidad de transformación de las personas, permitiendo superar los límites de la mirada biomédica convencional que tiende a patologizar las respuestas individuales y sociales en escenarios de sufrimiento intenso.

The objective of this study is to identify individual, family and/or community responses of resistance within protracted armed conflict. We conducted a case study with members of rural communities in the municipality of San Francisco, in the eastern area of Antioquia, Colombia, combining biographical and ethnographical approaches. The primary results show that, along with the suffering generated by the experience of armed conflict, rural community members also display a repertoire of multiple and diverse resistance strategies. Resistance is for them an active response and a way to re-weave the fabric torn by the experience. As a type of affirmative opposition, resistance is a powerful category for the entire mental health field, in that it highlights the creativity and capacity for transformation of individuals. In this way, the category allows for overcoming the limits of the conventional biomedical view that tends to pathologize individual and social responses in scenarios of severe distress.