Ramadan Muslim Patients example essay topic

The Middle Eastern culture has many different nationalities within their population including Arabians, Iranians, Iraqis, Pakistan ians, Egyptians, Saudi Arabians, and many more. The most common religion found in the Middle East is Muslim. However not every Middle Easterner is Muslim, there are also other religions just as in any country such as Christian and Jewish. There are more than seven million Muslims living in America and over 1.5 billion worldwide. Many Middle Eastern Muslims who are conservative with their religion do not eat pork or drink alcohol. Some eat only Halal meat, which is meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic tradition.

Muslims pray five times a day facing Mecca, and also observe a holiday called Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. The Month of Ramadan is also when it is believed the Holy Quran "was sent down from heaven, a guidance unto men, declaration of direction, and a means of Salvation. ' It is during this month that Muslims fast. It is called the Fast of Ramadan and lasts the entire month. Ramadan is a time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives.

It is a time of worship and reflection. During the fast of Ramadan, strict restraints are placed on the daily lives of Muslims. They are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours. Diet for Muslim patients can be an issue during Ramadan.

Patients tend to resist taking medications during the daytime of Ramadan because they think it is a form of eating. During Ramadan Muslim patients will not eat even in a hospital setting, which makes it difficult to monitor progress. Also, Muslim patients are concerned with how some medications are derived because some medications are made from a pig's aorta. Smoking and sexual relations are also forbidden during fasting.

At the end of the day, the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called the if tar. In the evening following the if tar, it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends. The fast is resumed the next morning. During Ramadan, it is common for Muslims to go to the Masjid and spend several hours praying and studying the Quran. In addition to the five daily prayers, during Ramadan Muslims recite a special prayer called the Taraweeh prayer also known as the Night Prayer. The length of this prayer is usually 2-3 times as long as the daily prayers.

Some Muslims spend all night in prayer. On the evening of the 27th day of the month, Muslims celebrate the Layla t-al-Q adr (the Night of Power). It is believed that on this night Muhammad first received the revelation of the Holy Quran, and according to the Quran, this is when God determines the course of the world for the following year. When the fast ends (the first day of the month of Shawwal) it is celebrated for three days in a holiday called Id-al-Fitr (the Feast of Fast Breaking).

Gifts are exchanged, friends and family gather to pray in congregation and for large meals. In some cities fairs are held to celebrate the end of the Fast of Ramadan. The whole point of fasting is to achieve good, and the good that is acquired through the fast can be destroyed by five things. These five things include the telling of a lie, slander, denouncing someone behind their back, false oath, and greed. Muslim women are required to wear long dresses and scarves to cover their body. They also wear amulets for protection from the evil eye.

Muslim people also burn incense to keep the evil eye away and to keep the evil eye away from the sick. Health is an important issue in the Muslim community. Muslims believe that the key to good health is good hygiene and diet. They place a high value in modern Western medicine and have confidence in the medical profession. Muslim families do not wait long to seek professional help and are usually anxious to receive medicine as soon as possible.

They also listen carefully to what the health care provider is saying and follow directions carefully. However when the symptoms improve, they will stop taking the prescribed medication or treatments and do not usually return for follow up appointments. When Muslim patients do not receive relief from medications they do not understand that the medicine did not work, they feel that the doctor does not know what is wrong. Sometimes Muslim patients feel reluctant to disclose detailed information about themselves or their family to strangers.

They do not feel it is necessary to give past family medical history when nurses are asking for their medical history and should be skipped until the exam for the doctor to explain the importance of diagnosis. The Muslim culture normally looks down on people who are mentally ill, and often do not bring those people into public for fear of rejection. They also look to their family for help before they seek professional help. On the other hand, they do not put people with these types of illnesses in institutions, they believe in taking care of their own family. The Middle East it is a male dominance society. Men attend all doctors' appointments with their wives and children.

They also prefer to be seen by male doctors except when the woman is pregnant and then they prefer women doctors. Muslims believe that pregnancy is a female issue and men are not associated with anything to do with the pregnancy. During labor female family and friends usually surround the woman and not their husbands. Midwives often times play an important role in the Muslim society and are held in high regards. During the pregnancy, the woman fulfills any cravings she may encounter because it is believed that the unborn child will develop a birthmark in the shape of the unsatisfied craving. Also, another stressor of pregnancy for Muslim women is gender preference especially if the woman has not produced a son.

A woman can be divorced if she doesn't bear a son. Women who are carrying high are believed to be having a girl, and women who are carrying low are believed to be having a boy. There is a Muslim belief that air may enter a postpartum woman and cause illness if she bathes. There is also a belief that washing of the breasts causes her milk to be thinned. Muslim postpartum women are thought to fully recover after two to three days of complete bed rest. This usually delays breast-feeding.

It is also believed that immediate breast-feeding at birth can cause the baby to be dumb. Special foods such as lentil soup and teas are fed to the postpartum woman to increase her breast milk production and cleanse the body. After the baby is born it is a Muslim custom to wrap the baby's stomach to protect it from cold or wind, which are believed to enter the baby's body through the stomach. It is also custom for Muslim to call together to prayer and whisper in the baby's ear.

It is required by Muslim law to circumcise all baby boys at birth. Birth control and abortion is prohibited in the Muslim culture. They believe that it is altering God's will. It is also prohibited to have a vasectomy or a tubal ligation because of the same reason. Abortion is only allowed in the instance where it may harm the mother or a risk of a genetic disorder. Women who are menstruating are not allowed to touch holy objects or have intercourse because menstrual blood is considered to ritually unclean.

Also, women are not supposed to exercise or shower excessively during menstruation because they are thought to be fragile and susceptible to hemorrhage. At the end of menstruation and prior to participating in any religious rituals, women are expected to wash and purify themselves. Death is also another major issue that the Muslim culture deals with. Muslims do not believe in ventilators or life support.

The feel that this is also altering God's will. The Muslim culture does not reveal the bad news about a condition to the whole family except for one family member. They believe that if you talk about it, that it will bring forth the worst for the condition. Muslim patients who are dying have their bed turned towards Mecca, the Holy Land. After the patient passes, the body is washed three times by a Muslim of the same sex, and then is wrapped in white material and buried as soon as possible. All body orifices are closed and tightly packed with cotton to prevent bodily fluids from escaping.

The grave must be cement or brick lined and face Mecca. Women do not attend funerals unless it is their husband who passes. Cremation and autopsies are not approved of because they believe that it is a lack of respect altering the body.