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Folk asthma treatment of the day: swallow baby mice. Before the invention of modern asthma drugs, there were many wild and wonderful ways to cure an asthma attack. In the UK it was lying flat on your back underneath a lemon set rotating on a string. In Cambodia, the first port of call is: swallow baby mice. The traditional Cambodian healer is the /krou k’mai/. One woman with asthma flew back home from America for two weeks to get treatment from a /krou k’mai/. She had to drink a blood-coloured thick liquid and swallow baby mice seven times to be cured. (The 'traumatic' nature of some traditional cures seems to be related to their perceived efficacy). Her symptoms subsequently improved for 1 year. One man with asthma also saw a /krou k’mai/ in a Thai refugee camp who gave him a liquid to drink which consisted of red wine with /grong/ (a type of ant with a red colour), seven toads which were fried/burned, and /tk gai/, which is a type of animal. This mixture has a sour taste and is taken 3-4 times/day. It is said to clean up the lungs. His wife reported that it could be found in Cambodian grocery stores but was very expensive ($300/jar). She had also heard of drinking blood from a black dog with wine to treat asthma. (from Cambodian Asthma Cultural Profile - EthnoMed) (fb)