A man bitten by a snake in east India received a dangerous and unorthodox treatment from a shaman that involved slicing his bitten arm with a razor blade. <br /><br />Parafulla Majhi, 28, was bitten by a venomous snake on October 29 in Ranapur near Nayagad, Odisha. <br /><br />Instead of going to the hospital he went to a local shaman, Sarbeswar Pradhan, for healing. <br /><br />The shaman chanted mantras, prayed with neem leaves and even cut the snake bite wound with a razor blade to "bleed the poison." <br /><br />Snake Helpline members rushed to the spot after hearing about the "treatment", rebuked with the with the shaman and forcibly shifted the victim to a hospital. <br /><br />The patient was administered with snake anti-venom and discharged after two days. <br /><br />General Secretary of Snake Helpline Subhendu Malik said: "Cutting the the bite site with a blade is an old method and very harmful. It makes makes the wound difficult to manage and increases risk of secondary infections.”<br /> <br />“The shaman should be arrested for endangering the victim,” Subhendu added.
