A Medical Anthropological Study of Fluorosis in Marriguda Mandal, Nalgonda District of Telangana Region

Boddu, Venkatesh and Narasimhan, Haripriya (2014) A Medical Anthropological Study of Fluorosis in Marriguda Mandal, Nalgonda District of Telangana Region. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad.

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Abstract

This thesis is an ethnographic study about fluorosis, a disease which is caused due to excess fluoride in water, and which causes disability, in villages of Nalgonda district, in Telangana region. The main aim of the thesis is to explore local perceptions about fluorosis, and the experience of people who are disables due to fluorosis, and the impact of that on their family members, who are the care-givers. There are two types of fluorosis- dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. Dental fluorosis results in dental decay whereas skeletal fluorosis replaces calcium in the bones with fluoride, which results in crippled limbs. The effect of fluorosis is acute on the bones and kidneys and the disease can affect a person at any stage of life. Those affected by skeletal fluorosis suffer from chronic physical pain, and in some cases renal failure due to prolonged use of painkillers, and physical disability. In Nalgonda District, existence of fluorosis was identified long ago, in 1945. Out of the twenty-three districts in Andhra Pradesh, eighteen districts are affected by this problem. Around thirty thousand habitations are affected in the state. In Nalgonda district alone, nine hundred and seventy five villages are affected. This research Fieldwork was conducted in five villages of Marriguda mandal from May to July 2013. Data was collected using qualitative research methods. From the ethnographic information, victimized for their health condition and suffer from social stigma. Family members play a crucial role in providing care for the disabled people. Fluorosis victims are also involved in activism to get relief from state agencies, and are helped in this by some civil society organizations. But the problems still persist. The thesis argues that in order to provide relief to those suffering from fluorosis, social, cultural, economic and political factors that play a role at the household and village levels, have to be taken into consideration.

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