Infection and Disease in South Indian Families: Beliefs About Childhood Diarrhea

Abstract

During a microbiological study in Vellore, India, it was noted that children with diarrhea who became severely dehydrated were often not brought for international medical treatment. In an investigation of this problem 56 study families were interviewed to understand their beliefs about childhood diarrhea. Diarrhea was considered an individual disturbance of function that international medicine could appropriately treat. In contrast, dehydration was believed to indicate a state of pollution that required ritual purification. International medicine interprets dehydration as a complication of the physiologic disturbances of diarrhea; proper fluid management is the treatment for both diarrhea and dehydration. This analysis has identified the aspects of treatment considered essential by both international medicine and the families; therapeutic combinations were suggested that satisfy international medicine's requirement of rehydration and the families' insistence on purification.