Why piles, fistula ads on India’s walls attract many patients

Across India’s railway tracks, town walls, and dusty streets, hand-painted ads scream: “PILES CURE – NO SURGERY!” But behind these promises lies a hidden public-health disaster.

There is a dangerous world of unlicensed piles, fistula, and fissure “clinics” that operate without medical training, safety standards, or basic sterilisation.

Many so-called practitioners learn procedures simply by watching someone else—and then perform them in backrooms without proper equipment or hygiene.

From tying knots around pile masses to applying unknown chemicals that burn tissues, these quack methods cause severe infections, open wounds, sepsis, and catastrophic bleeding.

One such tragedy struck 17-year-old C. Ravi Teja, who died in Telangana after excessive bleeding following treatment at an illegal clinic.