Tag Archives: mental-health

Bokshi means witch or a woman who practices black magic.

I have never believed in those stuffs but it is funny how things come up.

I have been sick the last few days and for the last few weeks, I am having nightmares. I really can’t remember them much but I know they were bad dreams as I remember running or falling and waking up in the middle of the night, panicked. I tried everything to get a better sleep but with no success.

I think I am having bad dream because I am stressed out. So much is happening around me that some nights, I am half sleep and I feel that someone is talking to me. Then the other day I saw this bruise on my thigh. It was oval shaped and dark blue in colour. I couldn’t remember bumping into anything but I have a bruise and it hurts.

So, when I showed that to AS, he said it looks like something they call Bokshi’s bite in Nepal.

In Nepal, people believe that a bokshi sucks blood of other women to harm them. People still hold to the myth that such blue patches are marks after the bokshi has bitten and sucked their blood. Accordingly, the patches seem like a bite, kind of like a hikey. The mark of upper and lower teeth remains for a couple of days and it hurts as well.

I am sure it is nothing like that but hearing those things, we are always reminded of myths like that. I wonder how these things come to exist but doing further research, this is what I found.

According to a doctor, blue patches are frequent amongst women who are anemic. Accordingly, such patches develop often if there is any kind of deficiency in blood components or the person’s blood itself – for instance, in anemia. Generally, women in their fertility period get the patches. Such condition is known as bruises, bluish discoloration of skin, or ecchymosis.

A woman’s body is in need of blood as there is a heavy loss of it during menstruation. Thus, the blood capillaries burst in specific areas, causing bleeding under the skin. Besides, such bluish bruises also occur in women who have had their menopause, or are in that phase, as changes occur in the blood-clotting factor, which also affects the colouring factor of blood. And similar is the case in girls who have just reached their puberty. In the meantime, if there is deficiency of Vitamin C, then such bruises occur frequently.

As an early treatment, the doctor suggests taking iron capsules since it boosts hemoglobin. However, if this does not help, it is wise to have a blood test.

Furthermore, the doctor explains, the second layer of body skin has the most blood veins among the three layers. So if there is any kind of pressure on the capillaries, then bleeding can occur in the second layer of skin. But there can be no superficial bleeding. Blue patches appear more often if it is aplastic anemia. Usually, in this type of anemia, there is superficial bleeding and a continuous one, such as from the ears and nose.

Bluish discoloration of the skin can be related to many diseases. For instance, liver disease, scurvy, abnormal functioning of the kidneys, eye diseases, hormonal disorder, problems in circulatory functions, and lack of blood platelet, which helps in blood-clotting.

Unlike women, men don’t lose blood from their bodies so such patches are rare in them. If it appears then it’s serious. The patches might develop on men with liver cirrhosis or hormonal disorder. Men with hemophilia, a genetic disorder, also get such patches.

Explaining the shape of the patch which appears like a bite mark, the doctor says, It’s hypnotism. Because everyone has been repeating the same thing, we also feel that it’s a tooth mark. But actually, it’s the path of blood vessels, which can vary.

So here is the explanation for Bokshi’s bite on my leg. I don’t believe in black magic and divine power. If a person possesses divine power then why don’t they use it to make their life better than selling it to other for money? I really think there are so many things we can’t explain in this universe and that is why we give them different names.

I believe that everyone has a darker side, some darker than others. Therefore, when someone calls a person bokshi (witch), it is just a stage when that person has a personality disorder or a mental illness. So we need to help these people get proper medical treatment to make them better.

Do you believe in black magic? If you have any interesting story please share.

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