2008 Woodie Awards
Care To Comment
... on the dangers found in folk remedies?
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Opinion
According to the Associated Press, traditional medicines used by many immigrants are now the second most common source of lead poisoning in the U.S., and may account for tens of thousands of such cases among children and adults each year. The medicines are manufactured abroad, slipped into the country and sold, unregulated, in the U.S.
by folk healers and in ethnic grocery stores.
Lead is added to many of the concoctions because of its supposed curative properties. In other cases, powders and pills become contaminated with lead from soil or through the manufacturing process.
In the Southwest, lead poisoning has been traced to Mexican remedies given to treat constipation in children and contain as much as 90 percent lead. In the Northeast, high blood lead levels have been tied to a Dominican cure for foot fungus. Dangerous amounts of lead have also been found in ayurvedic medicines, which originated more than 2,000 years ago in India and are used by 80 percent of the population there. These medicines are commonly found in South Asian immigrant communities in New York, Chicago and Houston.
"People think, well, my grandmother did it, so it's not a problem,"
said Brenda Reyes with the Houston Health Department.
"It's extremely hard to change cultures and beliefs."
by folk healers and in ethnic grocery stores.
Lead is added to many of the concoctions because of its supposed curative properties. In other cases, powders and pills become contaminated with lead from soil or through the manufacturing process.
In the Southwest, lead poisoning has been traced to Mexican remedies given to treat constipation in children and contain as much as 90 percent lead. In the Northeast, high blood lead levels have been tied to a Dominican cure for foot fungus. Dangerous amounts of lead have also been found in ayurvedic medicines, which originated more than 2,000 years ago in India and are used by 80 percent of the population there. These medicines are commonly found in South Asian immigrant communities in New York, Chicago and Houston.
"People think, well, my grandmother did it, so it's not a problem,"
said Brenda Reyes with the Houston Health Department.
"It's extremely hard to change cultures and beliefs."
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