Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Slim Horse Howl Listening to the Wind and Rain July 1, 2024, 11:53 Henan
What Supernatural Taboos should we not violate? When it comes to Supernatural events, we often feel uneasy. So, what are the Supernatural taboos in our daily lives? What consequences might arise from violating those Folk Taboos?
“Spider Sores,” also known as shingles, are caused by an infection of the Varicella-Zoster Virus.
When the human body is infected with the Varicella-Zoster Virus, the virus can invade the nerve roots. When the body's immunity decreases, the virus replicates, leading to a rash known as shingles, which typically follows the distribution of nerves.
After shingles appears, it manifests as clusters of blisters in a localized area, accompanied by pain and discomfort.
The main treatment involves oral antiviral medications. It is most effective to take antiviral medication within 72 hours of the rash appearing, as this can effectively prevent postherpetic neuralgia.
Currently, commonly used oral medications include Valacyclovir or Famciclovir, which generally need to be taken continuously for 7-10 days. It is also important to rest and avoid overexertion to prevent worsening nerve damage.
This knowledge can now be easily found online, but when Uncle Six was young, there were no computers—electricity hadn't even reached rural areas. Moreover, at that time, rural areas were generally poor; unless it was a serious illness, people did not go to the hospital or undergo surgery (which we referred to as “opening the knife”).
In childhood memories, if someone in a household was hospitalized or “opened the knife,” it surely meant they had a serious illness. This is completely different from now when economic conditions have improved and new rural cooperative medical care has made healthcare much more accessible.
In rural areas during childhood, sanitary conditions were poor. While serious illnesses were not often discussed, minor ailments were quite common, especially mouth sores and skin diseases; “Spider Sores” were relatively frequent.
Back then, I didn’t know if there were antiviral medications like ‘Valacyclovir’ or ‘Famciclovir’, but I knew of a very ritualistic folk remedy:
Typically, a fire would be lit at the “Drain Eye” (the drainage area next to the front door leading outside) of the sick household (symbolizing that the “dirty things” swept away would be burned by fire and washed away by water). A few women would take ears of millet (which we called “shuao,” with light yellow seeds similar to millet; when ground into flour it is very sticky and somewhat sweet, often used for making rice cakes and sweet pastries, and is also a primary ingredient for making “Lamp” during the Lantern Festival) and lightly sweep over the affected area while chanting: “Spider King, Spider King, why do you go on the wall instead of staying away? Male spider, female spider, fall into the fire…” This would be repeated several times.
When I was young, I couldn't remember much, but it seemed that this method could cure Spider Sores.
While writing this chapter, I called some older people for confirmation, and they added some details: those participating in Sweep the Spider Sores had surname requirements. For example, those with the surname Liu were not allowed to participate (since Liu sounds like "stay," their participation would mean "not being able to sweep clean"), while those with the surname Jing were particularly suitable, symbolizing the ability to sweep thoroughly and completely.
All articles are from the WeChat public account Listening to the Wind and Rain.
Comment 0 Comment Count