MINGORA, April 15: Some so-called spiritualists have started treating people with amulets written with opium-mixed ink, especially the children, in the Malakand division.

The mothers of ailing children are told to dip the charm in a little water and then serve it to the babies in case of illness. The abdominal diseases are on the rise among children as a result.

A renowned child specialist Dr Habib un Nabi has said the number of patients suffering from diarrhoea in the Malakand division is increasing by the day. He has asked the people to avoid self-medication and consult the specialist doctors instead.

A survey conducted by the doctor found that 86 per cent of the mothers preferred getting their kids treated at home or by non-qualified healers. Only 30 per cent visited the health centres run by qualified doctors.

Many procedures and rituals practised in this area for treatment of diarrhoea are dangerous and need in-depth studies by the child survival project.

The survey revealed that male babies outnumbered female babies by a ratio of 4:1 and enjoyed more attention of the parents. Ten per cent babies with diarrhoea were below two months of age.

This small number may be partly explained by the fact that a newborn has to stay at home for the first forty days after birth and is not taken out of home for fear of exposure to imaginary evil spirits. Some twenty-eight per cent mothers believed in this conception.

Many mothers chose to give bazaar’s milk to their siblings instead of breast-feeding. Fifty-four per cent of them believed in hot and cool conception of diarrhoea. Some even withheld water to the dehydrated babies.

Many medicines sold by quacks are thought to contain ingredients soaked in opium and need surveillance by the drug inspectors.