Holistic with herbs
Saichon suffers from diabetes and even though he has been treated by Western medicine, his foot has turned black, the result of a deep tunnelling wound from an ulcer, a major complication. Two months ago, his doctor told him he should have his foot amputated, which was later revised to amputation of the shin, as the skin continued to darken and necrosis set in. Saichon decided instead to turn to Thai Traditional Medicine (TTM).
"I'm glad. I've been able to keep my foot and I can still walk though I have no feeling at all in the area of the wound," says Saichon, who also works at the Abhaibhubejhr College of Thai Traditional Medicine.
His doctor, Supawan Chaiprakaiwan at the college, is pleased with h is progress, explaining that the tunnelling is now shallower.
Saichon is one of the many patients happy to combine modern and Thai traditional medicine to cure his ailments. He's still taking drugs for his diabetes while undergoing the herbal treatments and says the necrosis appears to have decreased. The hospital's chief pharmacist Supaporn Pitiporn, who is behind the success of Abhaibhubejhr herbal products, is less optimistic, saying the colour is not good and she will need to consult the doctor of modern medicine again on whether amputation might be the better option.
Set up in 1941, Abhaibhubejhr Hospital is the only facility in Thailand where conventional and Thai Traditional Medicine are integrated to ensure as many patients as possible are cured of their ailments.
The hospital embraces TTM for some treatments and its TTM clinics are open to all. At the end of this year, to mark its 74th anniversary, it will formally open the Abhaibhubejhr Thai Traditional M edicine Hospital, with treatments for diabetes, hypertension and stroke.
"Our first task is to make war on diabetes," says Supaporn, who adds that current spending on medication for diabetes is Bt50 billion a year.
Conventional medicine, she adds, is not the only solution for the disease as modern medication focuses on cure rather than the causes, which mostly stem from lifestyle and diet.
And indeed, there is little point in taking drugs for lowering blood sugar without making changes and adapting to a sugar-free diet.
That's where TTM comes in. Supaporn says that patients, particularly those who hail from rural areas, don't relate to scientific terms such as insulin or blood sugar. They do however understand the human body's relation to the four elements - earth, water, fire and wind - which form the basis of Thai Ayuravedic medicine. TTM can help them control their blood sugar through cooking the right foods and incorporating vegetables from their backyard s and local plants into their daily diet.
"Our target is to empower people to cure themselves if not from the disease itself but from its causes and encourage them to take care of their health through their lifestyle by adopting a holistic approach rather than just taking the drugs prescribed by the doctors," says Supaporn
For instance, the hospital has initiated the sugar-free kitchen by replacing sugar with the "sweet herb" stevia and other plants. These dishes are provided to patients in the hospital who need to control their blood sugar.
"Diabetes is a disease related to the fire element, which is weakened by eating sweetened foods. We can strengthen it with a strong pungent vegetable like mara khee nok (wild bitter gourd), which has been used to control blood sugar since ancient times," she says.
As part of its anniversary celebrations last week, the hospital held a seminar for public health workers and volunteers on using vegetables and herbs to treat i llnesses.
Instead buying expensive stevia sugar, the hospital has its own plot of the easy-to-grow stevia bushes and gives cuttings to patients and staff to grow at home.
"The sweetener can be obtained by boiling the leaves or even using them dry. Stevia is about 300 times sweeter than sugar so you need very little. People can also plant the wild bitter gourd at home and use it to make lots of different delicious dishes," Supaporn says.
The hospital, which is also a medical college, took advantage of its anniversary to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Public Health Ministry to instruct medical students from Burapha University in TTM. It receives 15 fourth-year students annually and they are trained for three years. The aim, says Supaporn, is for new doctors to integrate TTM with modern medicine. An Integrative Medicine Research Centre is scheduled to open in 2017.
Abhaibhubejhr Hospital is well known both for its herbal products, which have flouris hed on the local market since Supaporn launched the line in 1983 and its magnificent Baroque-style architecture home, which was built in 1903 with the personal funds of Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr (Chum Abhayavongsa). The building was registered as a heritage site by the Fine Arts Department in 1990 and is occasionally used as the location for period dramas and movies such as "Vanida".
On the Web: www.abhaiherb.com
Source: Holistic with herbs
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