Self-medication, home remedies, and spiritual healing: common responses to everyday symptoms in Pakistan

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of participants.

	Interviewees	Focus group participants
Characteristic	N = 10	N = 14
Gender
Male	5	6
Female	5	8
Age
Mean (SD)	29 (7)	33 (14)
Range	19–40	19–55
Ethnic group
Punjabi	7	11
Pathan	2	1
Hindko	1	1
Muhajir	–	1
Educational level
Primary*	1	–
Middle^†	1	1
Secondary^‡	4	1
Intermediate^§	2	6
Bachelors	2	3

*5 years of formal education.

†8 years of formal education.

‡10 years of formal education.

§12 years of formal education.

Table 2. Respiratory symptoms and responses.

Symptoms	Possible responses
Hay fever/Allergy	Drink lukewarm water
	Take honey and nigella seed oil in lukewarm water
	Rest
	Take a combination of pseudoephedrine, paracetamol, and triprolidine
Cough	Drink honey in lukewarm water
	Take ginger juice with honey
	Eat honey and nigella seeds
	Eat baked guava
	Eat almond with honey
	Eat poppy seeds
	Eat dates
	For dry cough eat Halwa (traditional dessert cooked in clarified butter)
	Take cough syrup
	Eat Munaqqa (Black Raisin, also Munakka, Monakka; Vitis vinifera ‘Black Monukka’)
	Take mixture of honey and black pepper
Sore throat	Gargle with decoction of cassia legumes in milk
	Take ginger juice in honey
	Gargle with alum water
	Take glycyrrhiza (liquorice)
	Take lozenges such as Strepsils^®
	Take herbal black mulberry syrup
	Drink tea with salt
	Take erythromycin tablets
	Take amoxycillin capsules
	Gargle with saline solution
Flu	Take homoeopathic medicine
	Take Joshanda (commercially available herbal mixture)
	Eat roasted chickpeas
	Eat almonds tossed in a pan
	Rest
	Apply Vicks Vaporub^®

Table 3. Musculoskeletal symptoms and responses.

Symptoms	Possible responses
Headache	Recite Surah Fateha (first few verses of The Holy Quran) also known as ‘verses for cure’
	Drink more water
	Relax in dark room
	Take mefenamic acid/other pain killers
	Get scalp massage with oil
	Take bath
	Drink tea
	Rest/sleep
	Go to doctor if nothing helps
Joint pain (pain in ankles, knees, etc.)
	Massage with olive oil
	Drink soup-bones
	Drink chicken feet soup
	Avoid climbing stairs
	Eat curry made of cow or goat legs
	Take mixture of fruit vinegar, garlic, and honey in the morning
Menstrual pain	Drink warm milk
	Use hot water bottle on affected area
	Drink green tea or mint tea
	Eat dates
	Rest
	Take raw egg in warm milk
	Take hyoscine butylbromide tablet or injection
Swelling of toes in winter	Use stockings
	Dip feet in warm water
	Take vitamin C
Back pain	Pressing
	Take paracetamol/pain killers
	Go for walk
	Rest
	Get massage

Table 4. Gastrointestinal symptoms and responses.

Symptoms	Possible responses
Stomach cramps	Take Ajwain (Carom or bishop weed; Trachyspermum ammi)
	Drink green tea with lemon
	Take mixture of lemon juice and salt
	Take traditional herbal mixture in powder form called Phakki
	Take carbonated drink with lemon
Diarrhoea/vomiting	Drink onion juice
	Drink pumpkin juice
	Take light food such as boiled rice with yogurt
	Fasting for the whole day
	Drink boiled water
	Take metronidazole
	Take activated Attapulgite (a magnesium aluminium phyllosilicate)
	Eat banana with yogurt
	Drink mint tea
	Take Ispaghola husk (Psyllium; Plantago ovata) in brown sugar syrup
	Drink more fluids such as juices or Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
	Drink warm milk
	Use hot water bottle on affected area
	Drink green tea or mint tea
	Eat dates
	Rest
	Take raw egg in warm milk
	Take butylscopolamine tablet or injection

Table 5. Dermatological symptoms and responses.

Symptoms	Possible responses
Female facial hair	Apply ubtan (A herbal mixture containing turmeric and some other herbs)
	Waxing
	Apply lemon juice
	Honey massage
	Apply the unripe fruit of the Jand tree (Prosopis cineraria)
Prickly heat	Apply mustard oil
	Take regular bath
	Take care of hygiene
	Apply prickly heat powders and creams
	Apply cold cream
Rashes	Take bath
	Apply mustard oil
	Apply corn flour
	Apply creams/lotions/ointments
	Wash with alum water
	Wash with Dettol®
	Apply aloe vera pulp
Hair dandruff	Use herbal shampoos
	Apply mixture of ginger juice and mustard oil
	Apply mixture of yogurt, mustard oil, egg, and lemon juice
	Massage with oil
	Take antifungal tablets
	Use anti-dandruff shampoos
Hair fall/hair loss	Apply mixture of honey and cinnamon powder
	Apply beet root extract
	Apply egg
	Apply Aritha (soapnut, Sapindus mukorossi) powder
	Apply medicated oil
	Use medicated shampoo
	Apply aloe vera
Grey hair in young age	Avoid removing grey hair otherwise more hair will turn grey
	Drink filtered water
	Massage with oil
	Could be because of long-term cold and flu so these conditions should be treated properly
	Massage with coconut and nigella (Black cumin, Nigella sativa) seed oil
Chicken pox	Recite Quranic verses
	Smoke of burnt seeds of Wild Rue plant
	Avoid oily food
	Eat Munaqqa (Black Raisin, also Munakka, Monakka; Vitis vinifera ‘Black Monukka’)
Scabies	Apply benzyl benzoate emulsion
	Smoke of a resin (styrax benzoin) burnt on burning coal

Table 6. Miscellaneous symptoms and responses.

Symptoms	Possible responses
Eye infection	Use eye drops
	Use rose water
	Rinse eyes with cold water
	Use boric acid eyewash
Fever	Apply cold bandages for high fever
	Eat soft food
	Drink black tea with lemon and sleep in warm to get sweating and the fever will go off
	Take paracetamol
	Rest
	See the doctor
Jaundice	Drink radish juice
	Recite certain verses of The Holy Quran
	Drink sugarcane juice
Evil eye	Recite Quranic verses
Ear wax/dryness in ear	Use mustard oil