Three-month-old Rahul from Villupuram in Tamil Nadu has become a mystery to the medical world. The boy catches fire the moment he starts sweating. He has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Government-run Kilpauk Medical College in Chennai. “His condition is stable and there is nothing to worry as on today,” Prof Narayana Rao, head, department of paediatrics, told The Pioneer.
Karnan, his father, a poor farm labourer, said the boy caught fire for the first time when he was just nine days old. This is the fourth instance of Rahul catching fire by himself. “I am sad that some of my neighbours and other villagers fear that he is a bad omen and will bring disaster to all,” said Karnan.
Though Karnan claims that his house was burnt down because of one such incident, doctors refuse to swallow his version. “To me it seems nonsense. Of course, there are burns on his body. But the claim that the house was burnt down is unbelievable,” said Dr R Krishnamoorthy, joint director (health), Villupuram.
According to Prof Rao, the burns on Rahul’s body is less than ten degree grade and hence there was nothing to worry about it. But he described Rahul’s condition as strange and rare medical disorder.
“This is known as Spontaneous Human Combustion. The body catches fire as a result of the excretion of gases by the body,” explained Prof Rao. The doctor explained that Rahul should be kept in a cool and aerated space. “He should never be exposed to sunlight for more duration and should be kept away from all kind of inflammatory substances,” said Dr Rao.
The paediatric physician described the condition was caused by the failure of the body to break down the fluids into non-combustible forms. “We are yet to understand the mechanism,” he said.
Ashtavaidyan E T Narayanan Mooss, the octogenarian Ayurveda physician of the famous Thaikkattu Mooss family in Thrissur, Kerala, and Dr V B Radhakrishnan, south’s leading paediatrician agreed that it was a rare medical disorder. “I have not come across such a disease in my career,” said the octogenarian head of Kerala’s leading Ayurveda family. Dr Radhakrishnan said this is the first time a medical condition like this is being reported from India. “I have to check medical records to give you any information. This is the first time I am hearing about it,” said the doctor.But Dr Krishnamoorthy who treated Rahul, before the infant was shifted to KMC, said the burns could be due to Mauchausceaun Syndrome by Proxy.
“The mother or the grandmother cause injuries on the child to gain importance and attention. This could be understood by subjecting them to psychiatric counselling,” said Dr Krishnamoorthy who scoffed at the suggestion that this problem could be due to SHC. He pointed out that the child suffered the burns when there was nobody around and this needed further investigation. “The frequent instances were shocking and that’s why he was shifted to KMC,” he said.
Prof Rao said that there have been 200 instances of Spontaneous Human Combustion through the centuries. “No one has been able to explain with complete scientific accuracy why it happens,’ said Prof Rao.
One of the possibilities behind SHC is that the food is getting converted into methane gas inside the body itself which when comes out through pores in the body catch fire.
But there are doctors who feel some kind of foul play in the whole episode. “This could be an incident of child abuse. We are treading the path cautiously and have to wait for couple of days before arriving at any conclusion,” said a doctor who did not want his name to be quoted.
EOM