Every year half a million asthma patients flock to a small village in Andhra Pradesh for a dose of the miraculous fish medicine.This medicine is dispensed free of cost every year by a Brahmin family for the past 100 years.They claim to cure asthma if taken for 4 consecutive years.
The pharmaceutical giants and the stalwarts of allopathic medicine go up in arms against this family.They fret and fume and try to tarnish their image in the media calling it a hoax.They state that the herbal paste placed inside the mouth of the fish and swallowed 'may' have harmful side-effects.
'May' is a word that does not belong to science.Science is based on facts and not conjectures.If fish medicine has a dangerous side-effect then it needs to be proved beyond doubt before shooting from the lip.
The ever growing number of patients on this yearly pilgrimage adds substance to the family's stand that it actually works.Why does the world of allopathy always mount such attacks against
other methods of cure such as Ayurveda,Homeopathy,Unani or Fish medicine?
Why are we so selfish and narrow-minded?It is well-known that in the domain of statistics that to disprove a theory ,we first assume it to be true-null hypothesis.
I agree that Allopathic medicine is the most scientific of all the branches of medicine.It can accurately diagnose and expedite the etio-pathogenesis of most illnesses.However its curing ability is limited.Moreover many drugs have serious side-effects which curtail the therapeutic range of these drugs.
If Ayurveda or Homeopathy can provide a cure to the uptill now incurable diseases why are we averse to incorporating these remedies into our arsenal?The basis of Ayurveda lies in our ancient scriptures and is a complete science.
If we can follow an unscientific system such as casteism in a modern society only because it is described in the holy books ,why not follow Ayurveda?
The multiple curative properties of Aloe-Vera and Tulsi have already captured the imagination and interest of the West.The Materia Medica of Homeopathy unlocks many secrets pertaining to oncology.
Homeopathy recognises that each body reacts differently to disease and drugs.Therefore common cold in one person requires a different treatment from cold in another person.But Allopathy has stereotyped dosages of the same drug for all .These are but a few of the drawbacks of our Allopathic Medicine.
I believe that ,as doctors, we must never forget our primary aim-curing the disease.If any one school of cure is insufficient then we must be broad-minded to integrate the sister fields of traditional medicine in our armoury.
Only then will we be able to optimise our therapeutic abilities and release our society from the clutches of inevitable morbidity and mortality.
'The eyes don't see what the mind does not know'
Open your minds and your eyes will behold a new world of endless possibilities.
Note: Fish medicine has recently sparked a controversy in India. To keep abreast of the latest news on it, please see http://www.nerve.in/tags:fish+medicine
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