Quackery and Traditional Medicine

I. Objectives:
     a. explain what Quackery is,
     b. appreciate the importance of Medicinal/herbal Plants in our daily living; and
     c. determine the difference between Albularyo and Hilot.


II. Learning Content

Quackery and Traditional Medicine

 In general, consumers must be informed when making decisions on the goods they will buy and the services they will avail themselves of. This becomes even more imperative when it comes to patronizing health products and services.

            A consumer must be cautious about acquiring the services of people who claim to have an instant remedy or cure for all diseases. These persons may be quacks.

            Quackery affects the lives of many types of people the easily persuaded and wise, the rich and poor, the various races and religions. It sells questionable and sometimes, useless products and services. Due to high cost of medical services and increasing number of diseases cases every year, people are forced to resort to quackery.

            Instead of resorting to quackery, consumers must be informed about traditional medicine that is cheaper and scientifically-proven. There are many medical plants that available and affordable to the Filipino consumers. Consumers must be wary of quackery and aware of traditional medicine.

Quackery

           

Quacks are people who perform healing procedures or prescribe remedies for illnesses even without formal education and licenses. Some of them sell their own products to treat ailments and diseases. While some of them deliberately deceive their “patients” about their ability to treat illnesses, other practice their “craft” with full trust in their competence but openly discuss their limitations.

            Quackery involves the use of methods or remedies to cure diseases that are not scientifically accepted. Questionable ideas, as well as questionable products and services are therefore trademarks of quackery.

            Nowadays, quackery has taken on a broader definition. It is “anything involving over promotion in the field of health”. Thus, companies making exaggerated claims about the efficacy of their products, such as dietary supplements and non-prescription drugs, also qualify as a form of quackery. Health fads may also be classified under this category.

Possible Effects of Medical Quackery

        


    We must be able to identify and avoid medical quackery. Here are some possible effects of medical quackery: 

     

1. A person who is terribly ill may die in the hands of a quack.
2.  A sick person who goes to a quack for treatment instead of doctor may only be prolonging his or her illness.
3. Even if no actual healing has been done, the patient gets well merely by his or her faith, either in the quack or in the remedies given. The phenomenon is called the placebo effect.
4.  Money is wasted since a patient’s condition will not improved under a quack.
5. The patient’s family may only get false hopes if the quack assures them of the patient’s complete healing.

The best defense against quackery is to seek the advice of a medical specialist.

How to Identify Medical Quacks

            Here are some tips on how to identify quacks:

1. Some of them utilize advertisements to promote their products. In other cases, people come to know about their services by word of mouth.
2.  Most of them perform their services in their own homes. A few go to them patient’s homes for their treatment.
3. Some claim to have secret formulas which cannot be obtained from drugstores.
4. Some of them perform their services without regard for sanitation. They use apparatuses and other materials that have not been sterilized.
5. Some utter vague prayers or incantations while treating their patients.
6. Most of them use the same procedure or medicinal formula for all kinds of illnesses.

Who are the usual Victims of Medical Quackery?

            Some people who fall prey to quackery are those who:

1. suffer from serious ailments or diseases, like cancer, heart problems, etc;
2. are afraid of doctors or those who refuse to undergo surgery, although they have been advise to do so by doctors;
3. suffer from severe pains; and
4. usually put a high premium on vanity.

Health Fads

            Health fads or consumer craze or consumer myths refer to beliefs about health that gain instant popularity, stay on briefly, and then die down eventually.

Here are some examples:

1.    Some supplementary foods like unproven herbal drinks or energy drinks that give extra strength and increase the body’s resistance to diseases.

2.    Organic or natural foods are better than regular foods available in stores.

3.    Wearing a copper bracelet can alleviate pain or cure diseases.

Possible Effects of Following Health Fads

            Like medical quackery, health fads may also be a waste of money or a detriment to one’s health. Here are some of the possible effects:

1.    These can lead to spending money on less important or unnecessary products.

2.    These can lead to wasteful spending on usually overpriced specialty products.

3.    These can lead to spending so much on worthless forms of therapies.

4.    These can cause harm to the body.

Traditional Medicine

            Traditional medicine is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “medicine that refers to health practices

            There are illnesses that can be cured or remedied by traditional medicine. These practitioners, the hilot and the albularyo, are usually sought after not only by people ib the rural areas, but also by those in the urban areas.

Albularyo

       

The albularyo uses plants to cure illnesses. Studies have proven that the plants used by the albularyo do contain substances which can cure various illnesses. These plants are called medical plants or herbs. According to Michael L. Tan, an anthropology professor from the University of the Philippines, the term albularyo is misleading. It is a Spanish-Filipino word which means “herbalist”. In western countries, medicinal plants are usually small herbs, but Tan claims that in the Philippines, medical plants include both herbs and forest trees.

In addition to traditional practitioners, many licensed health experts nowadays recommended medicinal plants for the treatment of a large number of ailments and diseases, including some serious ones.

            Hilot

                        The hilots assist in giving birth, provide cure for spains and muscle pains, and even give on family matters. The skills of hilots are recognized by many people, including the authorities of the Department of Health (DOH). The DOH conducts training for hilots to enriched their knowledge and improved their skills.

Categories of Herbal Drugs

            The World Health Organization (WHO) categorizes medical uses of herbal drugs as:

• Those supported by clinical data. This category includes medical indications that are well-establish in some countries and that have been validated by clinical studies documented in standard scientific literatures collected from around the world.    
•    Those described in official pharmacopoeias and in traditional systems of medicine. This category is well-establish in some countries and is included in official pharmacopoeias or national monographs.
•   Those described in folk medicine not yet supported by experimental data or clinical data. The appropriateness of this category is not yet assessed due to a lack of scientific data to support the claims and this should be carefully considered in light of alternative therapeutic applications.

           DOH List of Medical

            The Department of Health (DOH) is promoting ten “scientifically-validated herbal medicinal plants”, partly because of the “high cost of synthetic medicines.” But the DOH warns that these medicinal plants must be taken only in the proper dosages. They can be harmful if used the wrong way or taken in excess of the recommended dosage. Nine medicinal plants and ailments they cure are the following:
          Lagundi- (five-leafed chasted tree)-

          For cough,asthma,and fever

Sambong (blumelab camphor) for kidney stones, and edema or manas and hypertention.

        Tsaang gubat (wild tea)- for diarrhea

        Yerba Buena (mint) for body pain

        Alkapulko(ringworm bush) for skin diseases caused by fungi such as ringworm or buni, tinea flava or an-an, and scabies or galis aso.

         Ampalaya (bitter gourd) for diabetes mellitus

        Bawang (garlic) for high cholesterol level

       Niyug-niyogan (Burma creeper, Chinese honey suckle) for intestinal worm.

      Ulasimang bato or pancit- pancitan(peperomia) for high uric acid level that causes arthritis and gout.

                                                                                                  

    While the Department of Health only endorses ten medicinal plants, there are other plants which   have yet to be “scientifically-validated”. Some of these are luya or ginger,which is supposedly good for sore throat, and banaba or queen’s flower, which is good for diabetis as it lowers blood sugar. There are local scientific articles that attest to banaba’s uses.

            According to Michael Tan, some local communities have their own products such as SLK cough syrup, which is concoction made from sampalok leaves, luya, and kalamansi. In addition,   there is also ABC (abukado, bayabas, caimito) leaves which are use for diarrhea

          Importance of Traditional Medicine

            On December 9, 1997, then the President Fidel V. Ramos signed into law Republic Act no. 8423 or the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act, which created the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITACH), an attached agency of the DOH. This is government recognition of the important role played by traditional medicine in providing cures to ailments and in contributing to the health and well-being of the Filipinos. Traditional medicine is very important for the following reasons:

1.    Medicinal plants are cheap alternatives to expensive medicines, particularly for the poor.

2.    It is the final resort for those who have incurable diseases.

3.    Traditional medicine is a more holistic approach to treatment. It is said that “Western medicine treats the diseases while traditional medicine treats the person”

4.    The albularyo and hilot play, to some extent, the role of doctors in rural areas.

  

               Reference:

            Physical Education and Health Textbook

            Agripino G. Darilag

            Lordinio A. Vergara

            Author/Editor-Health: Grace C. Mateo, Ph.D


            Video Reference:
           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXPYmQk3l18&feature=related
   
                   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uOQ5dxXzMc