Medical Issues : Private hospitals in India adopt alternate therapies.

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

I don't believe in integrated medicine. A hotch potch of various therapies is

the same " sickness maintainence " that we are seeing now. It can only palliate

and cannot lead to a cure. But at the present juncture such news should be

welcome. At least it will make the medical community consider referring cases to

alternate healers instead of keeping them alive on mechanical devices. Such

cross referrals are not rare in India. Around 13 years ago a neigbour of mine in

the terminal stages of cancer was referred to homeopathy by Apollo Hospital,

Hyderabad. The person lived another six years cursing himself for not seeking

alternate help earlier. A colleague of mine was similiarly referred to ayurveda

by a Calcutta Cancer Hospital doctor. He is alive, all the parameters are normal

now, but terribly weakened by the repeated chemotherapy and radiation. He does

not like meeting me as that reminds him how I had 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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