Medical Issues : Private hospitals in India adopt alternate therapies.

[Guest guest]

implored him to go for alternative treatment right from the very beginning.

The doctors will ask you to go for other systems when you are in the last

stages of Cancer or AIDS. Is it not better to take the decision early in life?

It may save you a lot of trouble later in life. I know, because I too sail in

the same boat. Regards, Jagannath. Alternative therapy comes of age in

private hospitals Yoga Rangatia/ New Delhi

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The Government may be slow in giving indigenous systems of medicine its due,

but hospitals in private sector have gone two steps ahead with integrating the

traditional and modern systems of medicine. "We did extensive research with

homoeopathy for critical care. We found homoeopathy useful for post-surgery

keloid, hiccups and even pain management," said Dr Rachna Singh, head of

integrated medicines at Escorts Heart Institute. She did extensive research for

three years before starting a homoeopathy OPD. "I look at about seven critical

cases every day," Dr Singh said.

At Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, acupuncture is offered as a treatment

choice for spinal inuries, including slip disc. "Acupuncture has shown to be

very effective for chronic back ache, slip disc, migraine. After spinal

surgery, many patients experience problem of bladder control. With acupuncture,

these have been cured whereas earlier they relied on catheter," said Dr OP

Chabra, an allopathic doctor, who has taken to acupuncture practice at the

Centre. Earlier, at Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health (VIMHANS) he

helped introduce acupuncture for psychiatric care. "Modern medicine has no

treatment for migraine, but with acupuncture we have cured most chronic cases,"

he added. Even Safdurjung Hospital has an ayurveda department and Ram

Manohar Lohia have unani medicines department. Yoga is routinely prescribed in

leading cardiac treatment centres. "This interface is inevitable. Modern

medicine is excellent for controlling acute conditions, but it is also picking

the best from other systems for chronic ailments, where allopathy has

limitations," said Dr VN Pandey, ayurveda expert and former director of Central

Council for Research in Ayurveda and Sidha. "We have shown good results with

skin and respiratory ailments, especially for children. Instead of giving them

steroids, we treat them with homoeopathy. After cardiac surgery, patients are

helped with homoeopathy. So much antibiotics

have already been given to the patients that doctors and patients opt for

homoeopathy," Dr Singh said. While the progressive among the allopathic are

amenable to referring chronic cases for traditional medicine, others fall prey

to underlining rivalry between the modern and classical systems. "Allopathy

doctors are either ignorant or have a bias against the traditional system.

Patients are not referred by them to acupuncture, rather the patient tries out

acupuncture as a last resort," said Dr Chabra. He suggests medical students be

taught basics of all systems of medicine in their course to develop critical

view of medicine. Lack of resources is stifling the development of the

indigenous systems. "There has been a serious neglect of Indian system of

medicine. The Government only allocates three per cent of its health budget to

these systems. Lack of resources means the scientific input for growth of the

indigenous system is lagging behind," Dr Pandey felt. To unleash the

potential of traditional medicines, the Government can learn from China.

Students of medicine are trained in allopathy and traditional Chinese medicine.

Little wonder, the Chinese have captured the growing multi-billion herbal drugs

medicine. "Our ideal is not

the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power

of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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