Hello kerri111,
Below you will find information regarding some of the beliefs of
Mexican or Hispanic people have regarding herbs, illnesses and
treatments.
Mexican & Mexican-Americans: Health Beliefs & Practices
By Charles Kemp, FNP, FAAN - last update 1/2004
This comprehensive article is intended to help health care
professionals and students to better understand Hispanic patients,
families, and communities.
Health Beliefs and Practices
-Folk Illnesses
-Herbal Remedies
-Disease prevention
Read the full text here:
http://www3.baylor.edu/~Charles_Kemp/hispanic_health.htm#health%20beliefs
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Cultural aspects of treating Mexican patients.
Clinician Reviews, May, 2002, by Jesup Thompson
Empacho
?Empacho is caused by a bolus of food that sticks to the walls of the
intestines or the stomach. Although all age-groups are potentially
susceptible to this condition, infants are at highest risk, followed
by children. Empacho can cause bloating, vomiting, constipation,
diarrhea, and/or lethargy.?
?Empacho is usually caused by some dietary indiscretion, such as a
sudden change in an infant's formula that causes the two types of
formula to combine in the stomach and create a blockage.?
?Many mothers give an infant clear liquids for 24 hours between
formula changes to dean out the intestines. Other causes of empacho
include eating improperly cooked foods (eg, tortillas) or swallowing
saliva or chewing gum.?
Treatment
?Treatment is often administered by a sobadora, a folk practitioner
who specializes in massage and the treatment of musculoskeletal
problems. The sobadora will usually perform a stomach massage, using
olive oil as a lubricant. Other external treatments may be used, such
as retracting the skin on the small of the child's back until it makes
a popping sound or rolling an egg on the child's stomach. Internal
treatments include mixed herb tea (eg, chamomile or mint), wormwood
tea, oral olive or castor oil, or commercial laxatives. The sobadora
may also provide dietary recommendations to avoid future episodes of
empacho.?
Cultural aspects of treating Mexican patients
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0BUY/5_12/87373532/p2/article.jhtml?term=
Caida de mollera or "fallen fontanelle"
?Caida de mollera or "fallen fontanelle" is a folk illness that occurs
exclusively in infants. The condition is believed to be caused by
incorrect care of the child--in particular, letting the child fall,
holding the child incorrectly, or pulling the child away from the
breast or bottle too quickly, creating a suction that pulls down the
fontanelle. The symptoms of caida de mollera include diarrhea,
decreased appetite, sunken fontanelle, fever, restlessness, and an
inability to nurse.?
?Remedies for this illness focus primarily on the fontanelle; most
commonly, inserting a finger into the child's mouth and pushing up on
the palate. Other treatments include--but are not limited to--holding
the child upside down and hitting the child's heels; sucking on the
fontanelle; puffing soap foam, egg, salt water, or oil on the
fontanelle; or various combinations of these remedies.?
Cultural aspects of treating Mexican patients.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0BUY/5_12/87373532/p2/article.jhtml?term=
Mal de ojo
?Mal de ojo literally means "bad eye," but in a broader sense it is
the cross-cultural belief in evil eye. Mal de ojo occurs when someone
who is weak, such as an infant or a child, is stared at (without being
touched) by a person with a piercing glance. The cause is based on
envy of the mother's good fortune in having a child.?
(..)
?Treatment modalities for mat de ojo are usually performed by the
patient's mother or grandmother and are directed at either prevention
or drawing the sickness out of the patient. Occasionally, a folk
healer or a physician is consulted.?
(..)
?One ritual treatment of mal de ojo involves the mother's rolling a
room-temperature egg over the child's body while praying out loud and
making the sign of the cross. The egg is then cracked into a glass of
water and placed under the bed of the child during the night. If there
are white spots in the egg the next morning, the diagnosis of ma! de
ojo is confirmed. The mother then throws the egg over her shoulder in
the direction of the rising sun.?
Cultural aspects of treating Mexican patients.
Clinician Reviews, May, 2002, by Jesup Thompson
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0BUY/5_12/87373532/p3/article.jhtml?term=
Susto
Susto, which literally means fright, is a state in which one's soul is
dislodged from the body and lost. This is usually the result of a
frightening experience. Susto crosses all age, sex, and social class
barriers and can be found in many cultures.?
?Susto causes weight loss, listlessness, lack of motivation to carry
on daily activities, disturbances in sleep patterns, irritability,
exaggerated startle reflex, diarrhea, and depression.
(..)
?Treatment for susto is determined by the severity of the illness. It
generally starts with herbal teas. If symptoms persist, the patient
may submit to a barrida, or a ritual sweeping. The barrida is
performed by sweeping herbs (peppermint or wormwood) over the affected
person's body while saying prayers in an effort to draw out the harm
that is causing the susto. The barrida may be performed by a family
member or by a curandero. Other treatments include oral sugar water,
scissors tied into the shape of a cross and placed under the patient's
pillow, and prayer.?
Clinician Reviews, May, 2002, by Jesup Thompson
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0BUY/5_12/87373532/p3/article.jhtml?term=
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Mexican Herbal Remedies
Chamomile
Used for: Stomach maladies, throat and vaginal infections,susto
Aloe vera
Used for: Burns and ulcers (topical),tired blood, diabetes, balding,
diarrhea, constipation
Rue
Used for: Inducing menses; earache (topical), upset stomach,
postpartum pain
Anise
Used for: Susto, sedative, laxative, stomach cramps
Mint
Used for: Colic, upset stomach, nervousness, intestinal parasites,
colds, menstrual cramps
Mexican mugwort
Used for: Gas, nausea, colic, stomachaches
Orange leaf tea
Used for: Sedative, menstrual cramps, colic, nervousness
Basil
Used for: Susto, insomnia, mild infections,
warding off evil spirits in barrida
Oswego tea
Used for: Colds, flu
Garlic
Used for: Earache (topical), insect bites, arthritis, stomachaches, insomnia
Cultural aspects of treating Mexican patients.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0BUY/5_12/87373532/p4/article.jhtml?term=
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From the NCLR Center for Health Promotion:
LATINO HEALTH BELIEFS:
A GUIDE FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
Suggested Outline for Pamphlet on Latino Health Beliefs Part 2
?Perceptions of illness causation among Hispanics vary and include
traditional folk beliefs as well as Western scientific biomedical
explanations.?
?Traditional folk beliefs include understanding illness as a result of
an imbalance between hot and cold, the impact on the body of natural
forces, including air, food and/or heat, and the existence of
supernatural forces such as spirits. Some Hispanics may use folk
medicine as an alternative to Western medicine for minor illnesses or
as an adjunct when chronic conditions persist despite medical
treatment. Rather than rely exclusively on folk medicine or Western
medicine, Latinos may seek the services of folk healers and orthodox
health care providers simultaneously.?
This publication provides extensive information regarding:
Alternative Forms of Viewing and Treating Illnesses
Humoral Medicine
Indigenous World View
African Influences
Folk Illnesses and Folk Remedies
Herbal Remedies
You may read the 31 page publication here:
http://www.nldi.org/Documentos/English/healthy_lifestyles2.pdf
LATINO HEALTH BELIEFS: Part 1 (30 pages)
Latino Concept of Health
Latino Cultural Beliefs and their Impact on Health Practices
http://www.nldi.org/Documentos/English/healthy_lifestyles1.pdf
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DO CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECT HISPANIC HEALTH STATUS?
By Antonio N. Zavaleta
The following article was written by Dr. Antonio N. Zavaleta to be
published as a preface to the proceedings of the Rio Grande Valley
Public Health Community Conference that took place on June 8th, 2000
sponsored by the UTHSC-School of Public Health.
http://vpea.utb.edu/elnino/researcharticles/doculturalfactorsaffect.html
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Latino Health belief Study
Abstract:
?This study examines Latino health beliefs. According to a new
investigation by Boston Medical Center and Children's Hospital
pediatrics researchers, Latino parents' beliefs about their children's
fevers can affect how they use health-care services.?
Boston University
http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/researchbriefs/display.php?id=180
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I searched PubMed Central (PMC), which is the U.S. National Library of
Medicine's digital archive of life sciences journal literature. They
present over 80,000 articles, studies and reports from over 100
Journals.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=Pmc
I located the following abstracts that might be of your interest.
The role and meaning of susto in Mexican Americans' explanatory model
of type 2 diabetes.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12227261
Herbs, prayer, and insulin. Use of medical and alternative treatments
by a group of Mexican American diabetes patients.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10735480
Rural Mexican American men's attitudes and beliefs about cancer screening.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10730803
Differences in Mexican-born and U.S.-born women of Mexican descent
regarding factors related to breast cancer screening behaviors.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11813768
Curanderismo: demystifying the health beliefs and practices of elderly
Mexican Americans.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8722206
Health perceptions of Mexican American women
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12113152
Gender and treatment differences in knowledge, health beliefs, and
metabolic control in Mexican Americans with type 2 diabetes.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11151290
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Search criteria:
Hispanic health beliefs
Latino health beliefs
Mexican health beliefs
I hope you find this information useful!
Best regards,
Bobbie7 |
