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By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter
The Department of Health (DOH) on
Holy Tuesday strongly advised penitents to first check on the
condition of the whip they will use before they lash their backs
with it this Holy Week.
The department warned that dirty
whips could lead to tetanus and other infections.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque
3rd said that since it is hard to discourage flagellants from
whipping their own flesh, the best penitents can do is ensure that
their whips are well-maintained.
In San Fernando City, Pampanga,
some 23 penitents, two of them women, have signed up to reenact
Christ’s crucifixion in three separate improvised Golgothas in the
city. Four penitents were scheduled to have themselves nailed on the
cross.
Flogging themselves with whipped
cords, all penitents go around the city first, before the
reenactment of Christ’s Passion on the cross. The ritual has
become a tourist attraction and merited a support of P250,000 from
the city government.
The reenactment of the Passion of
Christ is repeated in many Roman Catholic-dominated parts of the
Philippines, where self-flagellation is done by penitents.
“We are not trying to go
against the Lenten tradition here because whipping has somewhat
already become some form of ‘atonement for sins’ for some of
us,” Duque said.
“But this advice is important
to make sure that no one will land in the hospital due to tetanus or
other infections that penitents might get in the process,” he
added.
“Getting deep cut wounds during
whippings or lashings is inevitable and being so exposed during the
course of the penitence, with all the heat and dust blowing in the
wind, welcomes all sorts of infections and bacteria like tetanus,”
the Health secretary explained.
Duque disclosed that tetanus
infection generally occurs through wound contamination, and often
involves a cut or deep puncture wound.
As the tetanus infection
progresses, lockjaw develops and is normally followed by difficulty
in swallowing, general muscle stiffness, and spasms in other parts
of the body.
It usually takes two to 14 days
for tetanus symptoms to develop after infection. Symptoms peak 17
days after infection.
“Tetanus infection can be
prevented, however, by proper immunization and by post-exposure
prophylaxis,” Duque said.
The Health department also
advised pilgrims to bring their own drinking water during the
traditional visita iglesia (visit to churches) and via cruces
(following the Way of the Cross).
“They should bring enough
drinking water for the whole course of the pilgrimage to avoid
dehydration, rather than buy bottled drinking water from unfamiliar
sources,” Duque stressed.
It is also better to prepare and
bring self-prepared foods such as sandwiches, not only to save
money, but also to avoid getting diseases such as diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid after eating food bought from street
vendors, he said.
--With Mark Louie P. Roxas
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