Cruel disease, cruel medicine: Self-treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with harmful chemical substances in Suriname

► Provides analysis of health seeking with harmful chemicals among patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Suriname. ► Patients use toxic chemicals such as insecticides, lead, battery acid, gasoline, bleach and herbicides to treat CL sores. ► occupational, economic, environmental, socio-cultural contexts leading to harmful self-treatment practices. ► Discusses popularity of cruel treatment in spite of lack of evidence of its efficacy. ► Analyses this painful self-treatment as the outcome of associative reasoning.