FOLK REMEDIES AND CHILD-ABUSE - A REVIEW WITH EMPHASIS ON CAIDA DE MOLLERA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME

Objective: There were two objectives: first, to make the reader famili ar with folk remedies that might be confused with child abuse; second, to challenge the idea existing in the literature that treatment for t he Hispanic folk illness caida de mollera can cause the injuries seen in the shaken baby syndrome. Method: Literature review and analysis wi th case application were used. Results: A wide variety of folk remedie s with potential for confusion with child abuse were found to exist, a nd were described. Treatment for caida de mollera was found to consist of a number of gentle, nonviolent maneuvers quite different from the violent shaking believed to cause shaken baby syndrome. Conclusions: F amiliarity with folk remedies will help differentiate them from child abuse. The child protection community would benefit from realizing tha t treatment for caida de mollera is an improbable cause of shaken baby syndrome injuries. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.