Burning body parts “Guboow” to treat epididymo-orchitis: A traditional Somali healing practice

Abstract

In many parts of the world, mainly in rural communities, villages, and some urban areas, traditional healers play a role in primary healthcare. Guboow or body burning is practiced in Africa and Asia to treat various symptoms and conditions. In this article, we present a Somali patient from central Somalia with left epidydimo-orchitis and left inguinal hernia who received body burns to treat the illnesses and the symptoms. The burns caused severe pain and wound infection in the area applied which resulted in increased morbidity and prolonged hospital stay of the patients.

Keywords

• Guboow
• Body burning
• Urology
• Somalia