Table 5 Description of the most cited children illnesses by the 86 participants in the five islands from the Society archipelago

Restlessness, irritability, jerk (ira*)

60

50

95

Jerk (21)

Blue spots on the skin (7)

Epileptic symptoms (5)

Eyes with specific color (5)

Restless baby (5)

Green feces (2)

From birth (5)

 > 3 months old (2)

 > 1 month old (1)

0–10 years old (1)

Mothers (4): bad things said in the past (1), jerk while watching TV (1), Lack of cleanliness (1)

Presence of blue or dark spots on the skin or around the eyes (4)

Use remedy for ira (8): every month (2), every 15 days (1), every 3 months (1), for children up to 2 years old (2)

ND

Sinusitis (nanu*)

35

30

39

Mucus in the nose (6)

Blocked-up nose (4)

Running nose (3)

Breathing difficulties (2)

 > 3 months old (3)

From birth (2)

Disorders related to delivery (3)

Cold not well treated (2)

Catching cold (2)

Allergy (1)

Lack of cleanliness (1)

ND

Protecting babies from cold temperature (1)

Protecting babies from sun and hot temperature (1)

Can develop into a more serious health condition, e.g., bronchitis, otitis, regurgitation (4)

Ranula (salivary cyst) (arero ma'a*/double tongue)

25

17

27

Piece of flesh underneath the tongue (14)

Tonsillitis (8)

Difficulty in swallowing (3)

Red throat (3)

Cough (2)

Sore throat (2)

Swollen tongue (2)

Fever (1)

Hard jaw (1)

Presence of mucus (1)

ND

Burns caused by hot meals (11)

Teething (3)

Genetic background (1)

Lack of hydration (1)

Microbes (1)

ND

Avoid drinking hot water (1)

Can develop into an acute rheumatic fever (1)

Can lead to coma (1)

Teething (ira niho, niho*)

24

10

17

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

Cough (hota*)

23

15

25

ND

ND

Catching a cold, weather too cold (3)

Children's relatives (smoke, suffer from a cold themselves) (2)

Sea, rivers, rain (1)

ND

ND

Dry at the beginning, then develop into a productive cough (1)

Fracture (fati*)

18

14

21

ND

ND

Accident (3)

When a parent does not hold a baby carefully (3)

Baby cries after touching his backbone (1)

Cold feet, red lips, fever (1)

ND

ND

Fever (fiva*)

17

14

19

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

Detoxifying agent (he'a, pu'a roto*)

14

13

15

Please refer to the description of he'a in the text

Vaginal or urethral discharge (he'a*)

14

7

11

Vaginal and urethral discharge (11)

Genital itching (3)

Genital odors (1)

Painful urination (1)

 > 5–6 years old (1)

4–8 years old and teenagers (1)

Unhealthy food, bad breath, running nose, eye gunk, and because the mother was not treated (with a rā’au he’a) during her childhood and adulthood (1)

ND

Please refer to the description of he'a in the text

Can develop into a cervical cancer (1)

Asthma (ahopau*)

13

11

11

Breathing difficulties (6): air hunger (1), fever (1)

Occurs occasionally (1)

Start as soon as the child walks (1)

Allergy (1)

Dust (1)

Genetic (1)

Injury (1)

Lack of health education (1)

Lack of medical equipment (thermometer) (1)

Pollen (1)

Tobacco (1)

Untreated wound (1)

Visual inspection and take the pulse (1)

ND

ND

Furuncles, abscess, and other disorders with pus exudation (tui*)

13

11

12

Furuncles localized on the head (4)

Furuncles spreads all over the body (2)

Pain (1)

Pus exudation (1)

Stick eyelids (1)

ND

“staphylo” (1)

ND

ND

ND

Otitis (tari'a ma'i, tui*)

13

13

15

ND

 > 3 months old (1)

Babies up to 1 year (1)

Take a bath or swimming (4)

Diving deep into the sea (1)

Running nose, cold poorly treated (1)

ND

Do not dive into the sea (1)

ND

Lower abdominal disorders (tia*)

12

13

13

Lower abdominal pain (6)

Difficulty urinating (5)

Lower abdominal tightening (4)

Pain on urination (3)

Colic (1)

Constipation (1)

Fever (1)

Hamstring pain (1)

Boys and girls from birth (1)

 > 1 month old (1)

 > 2 years old (1)

Poorly healed belly button (1)

Food or milk (1)

Palpation of the child's belly (1)

Drink a lot of water during the day (1)

ND

Skin disorders (associated with he'a)

12

11

11

Itching (2)

Blisters (1)

Microbial skin infections (1)

Pimples (1)

Spots (1)

Localized in the wrinkles (1)

Spread all over the body (1)

ND

Lack of treatment (with ra'au he'a) for “cleaning” the babies and pregnant mothers (3)

ND

Take the remedy “ra'au he'a” during pregnancy and childhood (3)

Avoid sugar, soda, and food in cans (1)

Does not heal (1)

Umbilical cord care (pito*)

12

7

8

Abdominal pain (1)

From 1 month to 1 year old (1)

1 month old (1)

3 months old (1)

Newborn babies (1)

Poor healing of the navel in newborn babies (6)

Green feces stuck in the intestine (1)

Running nose (1)

Cold (1)

ND

Place a bandage on the navel (3). This avoids cold to penetrate inside the body

ND

Chickenpox ('ōniho*)

11

5

13

Blisters (2)

Red spots (1)

Staphylococcus (1)

 > 2–3 years old (1)

Sun allergy (1)

Risk of outbreak, contagious (2)

Effects of reduced temperature (puta to'eto'e*)

11

7

9

Shivers (3)

Cold body (2)

Backache (1)

Bronchitis (1)

Cold sweat (1)

Colic (1)

Flu (1)

Headache (1)

ND

Umbilic not protected from cold temperature (3)

Cold temperature (2)

Seawater bath, sweating, walking on cold surfaces (such as tiles) (1)

Unbalanced body (1)

Feel cold when touching the palm of a child's hand

Be careful when taking a bath (1)

ND