Monday, April 27, 2009

Taking Care of Fistula, Open Wounds and Odors in Cancer Patients

Introduction
Some cancer patients develop abnormal holes inside or on their body. Such unnatural openings in the body, referred to as fistula, do not form in a healthy body. Artificially created holes, as in case of body piercings, differ from fistula in the sense that skin surrounding these holes heals properly in a healthy body. In cancer patients however, fistula formation may not heal. Instead, it may grow bigger paving way for larger and larger open wounds.

Those who are dealing with it know very well how difficult it is to take care of such non-healing wounds. Constant pus secretion is an additional problem. Another serious issue associated with open wounds is the number of flies, insects, cockroaches and even small rodents they attract. Maggot infestation then becomes only a matter of slight negligence.

The situation gets complicated even more if the patient has that sickening cancer smell about him/her. Though everyone is concerned about the patient, the strong unpleasant odor makes it next to impossible to even come near the patient. Friends and family members too start hesitating.

Through our struggle with cancer, we accidentally came across an effective solution – the use of neem leaves charred in cow's milk ghee. Notice that this is "an effective solution" only in terms of better managing the fistula and odor. It does NOT in anyway cure it.

Before proceeding, let's first talk about neem and ghee.

Neem, Azadirachta indica, commonly found in South Asian countries and Africa is said to have exceptional medicinal qualities. All parts of this tree are used to produce a variety of medicinal products. Use of neem in soaps, hair care and skincare products is very common. Local people frequently use its soft twigs for daily dental hygiene. Adding neem leaves to bathwater is considered to prevent skin problems.

Ghee, or clarified butter is again very popular in South Asian countries including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Though people living in rural areas prepare ghee regularly even today, those living in urban regions simply purchase it from a store. Those new to ghee can find it in a nearby South Asian or Indian groceries store.

How to Blend Neem and Ghee Together?
The procedure for preparing this blend was printed in a widely published local magazine. Since we had nothing to lose, we thought of giving it a try, more so because neem and ghee are devoid of any side effects.

Take some ghee made from cow's milk and neem leaves. Here in India, we just pluck a few twigs from the tree, pick the leaves and discard the rest. I'm not sure how one can mange to get neem leaves in places where neem tree is not so common.

Melt the ghee in a suitable cooking pot, add neem leaves to it and let it cook until the leaves are charred. When cooking, the leaves make a crackling sound and eventually blacken totally. Turn off the heat at this time and let the brew cool down. Skim all leaves out of the ghee, crush them with your hands and mix them back in ghee. Store this preparation. It lasts as it is for a long time.

How To Use Neem and Ghee Paste?
Before using the neem and ghee preparation, clean the wound properly according to your doctor's advice. Smear some neem-ghee paste just before applying bandage. Cover the wound as advised.

Advantages of Using Neem and Ghee Paste
The neem ghee paste is a good amalgamation of excellent medicinal properties in an efficient lubricant. The use of this preparation helped us in many ways. To begin with, it prevented minor skin ruptures which invariably occurred in spite of us being extremely careful when changing the dressing. This in turn immediately brought down patient discomfort when changing bandage.

The pus secretion also became somewhat controlled.

Other significant benefits we observed were a dramatic loss of the repulsive smell and flies hovering around the patient. Of course, it didn't affect the rate at which the disease progressed, but at least it made it easier to keep the fistula clean and the patient almost odor free.