Honduran Hygiene and Sickness Beliefs

One thing that I’ve noticed in Honduras is that many people do not use soap. I am not sure why, yet. Perhaps it is too expensive or maybe it’s because they have different beliefs about what causes illnesses. For example, in the US we believe that bacteria and viruses cause illness. However, in Honduras bacteria and viruses are not common knowledge and the general belief is that sudden changes in temperature are what make you sick. For example, you are urged to drink cold drinks with caution, as they are prime illness agents. When you are hot and sweaty, you should under no circumstances drink a cold drink or take a cold shower. The greatest evil is drinking cold drinks while you are sick. That’s just asking for trouble. No one will take any pity on you for doing this.

Also, if you are cold (ex: just came back from swimming and are soaking wet and shivering) you should, under no circumstances, take a warm shower. This will also make you sick. Warm drinks (ex: coffee) should be enjoyed on hot days, because warm drinks release the heat from your body. This is also true of soup. What better time to have a steaming bowl of soup than on a 90 degree day? Perhaps Americans are completely wrong on this note. If anyone finds some research on the subject, let me know.

It broke my heart the other day when I went to the kindergarten and the kids were washing their hands with just pila water. I guess this is better than not washing their hands at all. Also, little kids are not taught to cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze. They will literally just cough all over someone else’s food at the table and not think anything of it. In the kindergarten class, it was sad because about 1/3 of the class was absent for being sick and of the remaining 35 students about ½ were sick. It made me just want to go into a power Charla (what we call presentations/workshops or literally “chat”) about the importance of washing hands with soap and covering your mouth when you cough.

As I have confianza (meaning something like “trust” but stronger) with my family, I have began educating them about bacteria, viruses, hand washing with soap and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze. In the almost 3 weeks that I have been here 4 out of 6 of my immediate family members have had a cold (including me).

Another widely-held health belief exists here in Honduras. People get sick at their stomach from eating fruit and especially vegetables. In many families, vegetables are rarely eaten, and if they are eaten, they are cooked until they have negligible nutritional value and covered with mantequilla (this is not butter in Honduras, but rather a whitish liquidy mixture of butter/margarine with sour cream). The problem is that people attribute fruits and vegetables as food that makes them sick and don’t realize that these foods only make them sick because they do not wash them properly. In Honduras, it is necessary to soak fruits and vegetables in water with a few drops of chlorine. If this is not done, you can become very sick at your stomach.

I am thankful that my family understands the importance of fruits and vegetables and washes them properly. Most of the other Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) rarely get fruit and vegetables. My host mom tells me that many of her friends think that she is crazy for giving her kids so much fruit, but it is healthy and that’s what her kids want to eat. She has obviously attended and understood Peace Corps nutrition charlas for host families. Yesterday she made me the best meal ever: tamales filled with beef, potatoes, rice and tomatoes and cooked broccoli, carrots and squash. She made comments like, “I don’t cook the vegetables for too long, because if you cook them for too long they no longer have vitamins.”