Health: Regional Wisdom and Ways

Traditional Chinese Medicine, China and other East Asian Countries

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is widely accepted in throughout East Asia, but it is considered an alternative medicine in the Western world. TCM’s first usage dates back to 2,000 years ago in China and continued to grow until the beginning of the 1900s until Western Medicine began to form. TCM includes the practice of acupuncture, herbal medicine, energy work, manual therapy, mind and body medicine, and naturopathy. TCM is a holistic approach to curing illnesses and the body and the mind. TCM incorporates “Yin and yang”, which is the relationship of interdependent opposing and complementary forces needed to maintain a healthy life. It is important to maintain a balance of yin and yang in every aspect of life. If the yin and yang are not balanced, then ailments occur.

Acupuncture is one technique used in TCM to treat aliments. It is used in combination with herbal, massage, diet and exercise therapy to increase health, prevent future illnesses and cure existing ones. In acupuncture, acupuncturists insert needles into a patient’s body in specific areas to target ailments. Western medicine claims acupuncture stimulates the nervous system to release chemicals to help hormones produce the desired effect. TCM Western medicine is hesitant to accept TCM because it is very different from their practice. For example, TCM encourages the doctor to treat the patient and not their aliment. TCM doctors believe the same disease has different causes so each patient must be treated independent of others. The unique approach of TCM may seem unusual to the Western world, but it is worth noting that the methods have been used for over 2,000 years and continue to be actively used throughout Asia today.

Herbal Remedies, Poland, Eastern Europe

Eastern European have a long tradition of using alternative medicine, including herbal therapies. The Polish people have been using two of their natural products to help with ailments for many years. Natural Baltic Amber from Poland and the Wieliczka Salt mine are unique to Poland and have been used in medicinal natural therapies in Poland.

Natural Baltic Amber in Poland contains a high amount of succinic acid, which is adicarboxylic acid that occurs naturally in plant and animal tissues and is used to cure ills by herbalists. Succinic acid is crucial to Krebs Cycle, which is involved in the body’s metabolic process. Therefore, amber is used in many remedies to cure ills in Poland and throughout Eastern Europe. Amber oils, powders, and aromatherapy, are all popular means to cure sicknesses from stomach illnesses to stress relievers.

The Wieliczka Salt mine, near Krakow, is a popular tourist attraction and also offers people suffering from respiratory ailments some relief. The pure air within the mine is said to help people suffering from bronchial asthma, recurrent nose, sinus, and throat conditions, chronic bronchus, and lung inflammations. An Underground Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre has been set up within a chamber of the mine 135 meters below ground to help patients benefit from the natural salt located in the mine and treat their respiratory ailments through techniques including breathing exercises.

Traditional Healing, South Africa

Traditional healing has been a form of medicinal practice in Africa for many years before the introduction of modern western medicine practices. These traditional healing methods are still used in Africa today, as more than half of the people in South Africa consult traditional healers before seeing a western doctor. Traditional healing includes the use of herbs combined with spiritual African practices. Midwives, herbalists, and healers play an important role in these traditional healing practices.

Traditional healers and the Western doctors seem to be polarized, offering disparate recommendations for treatment. Recently, scholar, healers, and doctors havemade efforts combine the two methods together, generating complementary benefits of both methods. Similar efforts are underway to combine traditional African medicine with national health care systems as well. A traditional African healer founded a 48-bed hospital in Kwa-Mhlanga, South Africa, which uses traditional healing methods with homeopathy, iridology, and other Western healing methods.* http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0007/ai_2603000708/ The hospital serves as an example of how Western and traditional healing methods can be complementary when used appropriately together.

Rural Service for Medical Students in Colombia, South America

In Colombia, final year medical students are required to complete a “rural” service, which consists of providing clinical services at a medical clinic or facility in rural locations within Colombia. This requirement fulfills the need to supply rural Colombians with access to modern medical care and gives students an opportunity to work with rural populations and apply their studies to practical care and services. The medical clinics rely on the final year medical students to provide services to the rural populations.the clinics would not be possible without the medical students.

Medical students serving in their “rural” year can perform services from treating colds and flu to delivering babies and performing surgeries. The treatments and services vary daily based on patient needs and ailments. Often the clinics are short staffed so the medical students are often working long hours to serve the many patients in need. One problem is medical students often leave the clinic after their “rural” is fulfilled, so new students take over work in the clinic. The system of requiring final year medical students to work in rural clinics throughout Colombia helps to reach rural populations that would not normally benefit from such treatments due to their location and economic background. By requiring medical students to serve in rural clinics, the rural populations can receive treatment closer to their homes.

Diabetes in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East

In Saudi Arabia, an estimated 1 in 4 people have diabetes, so the country has prioritized raising awareness about the disease. To combat the increasing numbers, a mobile clinic is scheduled to be set up in early 2011 and will provide awareness and education about the disease. The clinic’s main focus is to bring awareness to people about living a healthy lifestyle by avoiding foods high in sugar, to encourage them to stop smoking, and to engage in more exercise and sports.

Concern is high for children that are increasingly obese in the region. The mobile clinic aims to target healthy habits for these children. The Saudi Diabetes & Endocrine Association (SDEA)’s initiative to run a mobile health clinic centered on diabetes is welcomed by the country, because of the high numbers of amputation surgeries and deaths related to the disease. By tackling the disease through education and awareness, the Saudi Arabian people can learn about healthy lifestyles and practices so they can make smarter choices and avoid developing the disease.