Full Moon and Poisoning

Author: Thakar, C P, Sharma,R N,Akhtar, H S M Q
Abstract: Acute poisoning is unusual among diseases in having an extremely short incubation period: patients or their relatives seek medical advice usually on the samae day that the poison has been taken, and the time of poisoning can be established easily. In India, the day of full moon, when the earth lies between the sun and the moon, is called “purnima”. The relative position of the sun and moon on this day are such that their gravitational forces on the earth act almost in a straight line, causing higher tides. Water conbstitutes 50-60% of the body weight of humans. Possibly, as with sea water, body water might also generate some sort of tidal wave that increases on purnima days. These “human tidal waves” might cause physical, physiological, or biochemical changes in the body. The brain might also be affected by the process. As well as other factors that influence an individual to take poison, this phenomenon might affect the incidence of poisoning on purnima days. We undertook a study to investigate this.
Keywords: purnima, full moon, poison, sun, India
Notes:
Publication: British Medical Journal
Issue: Vol 281 1980
Dated: 20 – 27 December
Pages: 1684