Download Hindu Patient

Birth- Hindu preferences
•Noting the exact time of a child’s birth is very important
to Hindus in order to generate an accurate horoscope
for the child
•Traditionally, Hindu children are named on the 10th day,
although in America, they are named at birth
•Most Hindus do not approve of abortion, but approve
and often use birth control
Post-Partum Practices
Some traditions require the new mother to have a religious bath
The new baby may be welcomed with a ceremony where Om may be
written with ghee (honey, though often used, is not recommended)
Law of Karma
• Each individual creates her or his own
destiny by thought words or deeds – Law of
Karma
• Illness accident and injury result from the
karma one creates and are seen as a means
of purification.
Hospital Care
• The Hindu tradition does not approve of
mercy killing, assisted suicide or suicide
•Prolonging life artificially is up to the
individual; however, letting nature take its
course is common in Hindu tradition
• Hindu families are traditionally close-knit
and a Hindu patient in a hospital would want
his relatives to visit him or her.
Dietary Practices
• While vegetarianism is recommended in Hindu
scriptures, Hindus are free to choose their own diet
• Those who eat meat do not eat beef and pork
•Many do not eat meat on certain days of the week
• Indian food is often hot, spicy and fairly salty
• Yogurt and sweets are often eaten with meals
• Indian food often contains ghee (clarified butter)
•Hindu vegetarianism is of the lacto vegetarian
•NOT VEGAN
•When in doubt, serve vegetarian
Type of Dress
Hindu men & women often prefer to wear modest clothing, as
such they may want to wear long hospital gowns
Many women wear bindis (tilak) on their foreheads
Married women wear necklaces that should not be removed
unnecessarily
Men often wear a sacred thread that should not be removed if
possible
Personal Hygiene
Will wish to shower every day
Will want to wash hands before and after every meal and to rinse
mouth after eating
Right hand used for clean tasks, left hand for unclean tasks
Daily Prayers
Hindus often pray at sunrise and sunset (recite a mantra)
Prayers should not be disturbed by staff.
They usually have religious icons or food (prasad) at their
bedside
Medications
Patients may want to use Ayurvedic or other homeopathic
treatments
May avoid animal products
Hospital visits
•If the patient is older than the visiting relative, the visitor
would be expected to stand unless invited to sit by the patient
since respect for elders is engraved in Hindu culture
•Hindu patients may want to have a image of a Deity or a
religious object in their room; they may also want to recite a
prayer
•One of the family members is likely to request permission to
stay with the patient all the time.
At the end of life…
• A Hindu would prefer to die at home
• If the patient has to die in the hospital, the patient
may wish to be alone with relatives or a priest or Guru
• When death is imminent close relatives would give
Ganga jal (holy water from the river Ganga).
• Both cremation and burial are common depending
on local custom
• Mourning for the dead is natural, but public display
of grief is not the norm
After the death
Do not remove scared items from the body
Do not cut nails or hair without consent
Cleansing the body is done by close relatives and should not be done
by hospital staff
If autopsy is performed, family may request all organs to be returned to
the body for cremation
There is generally no religious objection to organ donations
If body is left in the room overnight, a light or candle should be lit in the
room.
“Those who have faith in God should
welcome death as a deliverance. It is a
change as certain as youth and old age
and no more to be deplored than the
latter.”
Mahatma Gandhi