India: Children swallow live fish to treat asthma

In the Indian city of Hyderabad, a strange annual medical practice has taken place to treat asthma on a mass scale.

Indian children swallow live fish to treat asthma.

The treatment, which has been used for 170 years, is distinguished by its "oddity" — the patient must swallow a whole live fish stuffed with a secret herbal mixture.

Traditionally, the healing ceremony is held by the Bathini Goud family, heirs to a secret herbal formula passed down by a mysterious priest.

The Goud family conducts mass healing sessions every year on a special day chosen by astrologers. This unusual "medical" service is often sought after by the poor.

Many people confirmed that the treatment was effective, and the Government even helped organize the crowd in the city. Doctors, however, were skeptical about the treatment and claimed that the effectiveness of swallowing live fish for asthma had not been proven.

According to sputnik