MEDICAL PRACTICE

Let’s integrate
Dr.Chitralekha J.S.

Health care is popularly compartmentalised as Allopathy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Naturopathy and so on.
Amongst all these, allopathy has been branded as primarily treating only the ‘disease’. This is a popular public perception. It is fashionable to say that certain other branches of medicine have "no" side effects.
First of all there is no branch of medicine that can afford to ignore the mind for healing. Psychology forms a voluminous part of allopathic training Mental make up, the environs, the kind of food one consumes, the kind of life style, all contribute to both the disease process and its healing.
Secondly every reaction has a counter reaction. Whether it is medicine or food, that we consume, they all interact with our system and produce some effect and some side effects, all of which are not always beneficial.
Sadly compartmentalisation has brought about conflicts of interest. Taking the best of ancient medicine coupled with rigorous scientific research which in essence means ‘integrated medicine’ should hopefully be the medicine of future.
Allopathic medicine also comes from source on mother earth. "Penicillin" the gold standard antibiotic comes from a fungus – a blue mold that grows on bread, cheese etc.
Ergotamine injection used routinely in delivery rooms to control bleeding comes from "ergot" once again extracted from a fungus which parasitically on rye.
"Atropine" used to dilate the pupil of our eyes during an eye check up comes from "Bella dona" plant. It is also a very important pre anesthetic agent.
Identifying the active ingredient, extracting it, synthesizing it and then the trials for safety, efficacy and dosage, interactions with food and other medicines all means pain staking research.
Our own gold mine of ayurvedic medicines now has attracted enough investments for sound scientific scrutiny. Hopefully the same interest and investment must be made for "grandmas remedies" local cultural practices, herbal medicines of different civilisations.
We all sat up when an attempt was made to ‘patent’ turmeric. One needs to be pragmatic to understand that good research involves gold standard facilities. At the same time, the final product must be accessible to masses. A healthy debate on patency rights should primarily focus on the general good for the majority of mankind.
Scientific research papers have not been beyond the ugly influence of human greed. Manipulations for monetary gains is surely possible. But one can’t brand the entire pharmaceutical industry black! A constantly vigilant society with respectable scientists and governmental regulations should hopefully ward off such possibilities. Impermissible levels of harmful metals in extraction of medicines from "bhasmas" or dose to dose variation of the active ingredient in our tablets have been reported in the western press. It could have been mischievous propaganda of vested interests given the popularity of traditional medicines. But we must be able to uphold world standards of purity and scientific scrutiny.
A human body is a highly intricate machinery evolved over centuries. More fascinating is its super computers – "The Brain". Mind and emotions are still an enigma. Interestingly research tells us that minute chemicals can decide our state of happiness, sadness, ecstasy, violent behaviour, suicidal tendencies and so on. The coiled DNA could be the answer to destructible human body and the indestructible soul "Atma".
As we all mellow and mature and gather knowledge it can only humble us as one realises what we know is only a like a grain of sand on the banks of a huge ocean.
Life on earth has evolved over billions of years and modern science is like a curious indulgent infant constantly trying to unravel it myths and mysteries.
The author is a practicing gynecologist.