indian council of medical research - Pondicherry University DSpace ...

(11) Causes
Change of water cold food that doesn't agree w~th the body and excessive hear are
the common causes attnbuted to vanous illnesses The varlous causes of ~llnesses as
perceived by the communlty are grven In Table 5.12 Worm rnfestat~on was not
cons~dered a dlsorder at all by the communlty In general Many people (45 0%) thought
that rlce eaters will have worms because of accumulat~on of rlce In the stomach
The following are some of the statements made ~n this regad:-
1. "Boys studying in private school fall ill mom ofien because the water is
different. That is well water. That is why they get fever, cold and fits" (A 30
year old woman In an in-depth interview).
2. "Worms are due to eating rice and ragi" (A 40 year old woman in a group
dlscuss~on).
3. "In those days they used to give purgative periodically to clean the stomach.
All the dirt will come out. Nowadays nobody cleans the stomach. That is why
rice accumulates and we get worms" (A 45 year old man in a group discussion).
4. "Sometime a child gets fever due to fear" (A 32 year old man in a group
discussion)
5. "Skin infection is due to playing in the mud" (A 30 year old woman in an in-depth
Illlolvlow)
6. " Excessive heat in the body comes out as diarrhea. If one takes lemon and
buttermilk, it will be all right" (A 40 year old woman in a group discussion).