A man prepares to swallow a live fish that has been dipped in homemade medicine as people crowd for their turn in a camp in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad June 8, 2013 (Reuters)<\/p>\n
Thousands of asthma sufferers from all across India descended on Andhra Pradesh state on Saturday 8 June to await their dose of a controversial herbal medicine, which is taken along with a live small fish. <\/p>\n
The herbal medicine, whose ingredients have been kept secret for centuries, is being distributed over the weekend by the Bathini Goud family, across 32 special counters at a large exhibition ground. <\/p>\n
The family, which administers the yellow paste-like medicine to patients free of charge, claims that taking the medicine for three consecutive years can cure asthma. <\/p>\n
Before distributing the medicine, the Goud family performs set rituals. <\/p>\n
Though the medicine is considered more effective when taken with a live fish, vegetarian patients take it with jaggery, or unrefined sugar. <\/p>\n
Thousands of people attend the medical giveaway each year, even though the treatment is not proven to be effective. <\/p>\n
\"I have come here for the second time. It has given some relief and I hope it will cure the problem,\" said Ramakrishna Reddy, a patient from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, according to a report in First Post. <\/p>\n
The Goud family claims the recipe for the herbal medicine comes to them from an ancestor who received it from a saint in the year 1845 and made him promise to administer it free of charge. <\/p>\n
Some groups claim that the family's claims are unscientific and superstitious, and laboratory tests have failed to prove its efficacy, though the medicine is not harmful either. <\/p>\n
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India: Thousands Queue For Secret Fish Medicine That 'Cures Asthma'<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A man prepares to swallow a live fish that has been dipped in homemade medicine as people crowd for their turn in a camp in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad June 8, 2013 (Reuters) Thousands of asthma sufferers from all across India descended on Andhra Pradesh state on Saturday 8 June to await their dose of a controversial herbal medicine, which is taken along with a live small fish. The herbal medicine, whose ingredients have been kept secret for centuries, is being distributed over the weekend by the Bathini Goud family, across 32 special counters at a large exhibition ground. Continue reading