Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Health Around the World

Grisi Siknis = Crazy Sickness

Grisi Siknis mainly affects the Misikito people of Eastern Central America. Tradition holds that Grisi Siknis is an imbalance of the spirits caused by a dilman(evil sorcerer).

16 year old Anadina Smith was affected and explained to Nicola Fell,BBC News Corespondent, "One day at school, I felt giddy, and found it difficult to breathe, Then, I saw something coming towards me - a kind of black man or a dragon that entered me and possessed me."


Grisi Siknis is a "running" syndrome and is characterized by anxiety, dizziness, irrational anger and fear, frenzy, a trance-like state, exhaustion, and sleep and/or amnesia. Modern medicine has not been a proven cure. If affected by the Grisi Siknis a witch doctor is your best hope for a cure. The Grisi Siknis still occurs today on Nicaragua's Northern Caribbean coast. Read the recent article on BBC News.


Adapted from
Wikipedia Grisi Siknis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisi_siknis#cite_note-1
BBC News 'she ran around like a maniac' By: Nicola Fell http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8007895.stm

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