Odd News

Indians with asthma line up to swallow live fish

Updated: 2011-06-08 13:21

HYDERABAD, India - Thousands seeking relief from asthma are lining up in southern India to swallow an unconventional treatment: live sardines smeared with secret herbs.

People travel every June from across India to Hyderabad for the treatment offered for free by the Goud family on a day chosen by astrologers.

The family claims they received the secret formula from a Hindu saint about 170 years ago. They refuse doctors' requests for the herbal mix, saying the saint warned it would lose its potency if commercialized.

After swallowing the live fish on Wednesday, the patients begin a strict 45-day diet of 25 different foods, including lamb, rice, white sugar, dried mango and spinach. They must abstain from deep-fried food and repeat the treatment within two years.