Infant Critical After Traditional Treatment in Odisha
NABARANGPUR: In yet another case of tribals preferring treatment based on superstition to cure their children suffering from minor ailments, a seven-month-old boy, Chandan of Mahubhota village under Jodenga gram panchayat of Raighar block in the district, has been admitted to District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in a critical condition.
Interestingly, this time it was not a disari (quack) but Chandan’s father Ram Gond who opted to treat his son suffering from chronic cough for the last few days.
Sources said an anganwadi worker of the village on Thursday prescribed some medicines for the child. As the child’s condition did not improve, Ram became impatient. On Friday, he prepared a cashew nut gel and applied it on his son’s chest with a bamboo stick as part of traditional treatment for cough.
On Saturday, when the anganwadi worker visited the child, she found his condition to be serious and rushed him to Community Health Centre (CHC) at Hatbharandi and then to CHC at Umerkote. As the child’s condition was critical, the doctor at Umerkote referred him to DHH.
Chandan was admitted to paediatric department at DHH on Saturday night and kept in the SNCU where he is under treatment.
Head of the department Dr Dharani Satapathy told this paper that the child is suffering from acute anaemia and pneumonia. He has been suffering from the disease since long and his condition is critical due to lack of proper treatment, Dr Satapathy added. He clarified that it is not a case of branding the child with hot iron rod.