Precious medicine to save people with severe burns

With only a remedy consisting of a type of wild leaf growing in the forest, for nearly 100 years, Mr. Lu Van Thinh's family has saved the lives of thousands of burn accident patients.

For a long time, the people of this mountainous region have affectionately called him "the miracle doctor" of Thailand. Because he always treats patients with a good heart and a willingness to "do good deeds to save people" without caring about personal fame or profit.

"Miracle doctor" Thinh is sharing about his family's traditional medicine. Photo: TG

Save thousands of burn cases from forest leaves

During a business trip to Thanh Hoa province, we happened to meet a man from the city who traveled hundreds of kilometers to a remote mountainous area to visit his savior in a very serious burn accident a few months ago. He took out a business card from a thick file and gave it to the reporter, politely introducing that he made these business cards for his benefactor, Mr. Lu Van Thinh, who is known as a "miracle doctor", the heir to an effective family remedy for burns.

With just one type of forest leaf, Mr. Thinh has cured thousands of burn patients. He even took the patients to his home and treated them wholeheartedly without taking a single penny.

Curiously following the address on the business card, we arrived at Da village (Lang Chanh district, Thanh Hoa province) when the afternoon was approaching. In the courtyard of a small stilt house located close to the cliff, Mr. Thinh, a short man, was sitting collecting the last batch of medicinal leaves to dry in the yard. Knowing that the reporter had come to ask, he openly continued the conversation: "This medicine is a family heirloom. Nearly 100 years ago, someone in my family was severely burned, and my grandmother had to travel all the way to Laos to ask for medicine. Because the forest road was dangerous and remote, the doctor took pity on him and passed on the precious medicine. Since then, the family has kept the medicine and passed it down from generation to generation. Until now, the medicine has been passed down to the third generation."

Mr. Thinh did not hesitate to share his family's medicine. This medicine is made from only one type of forest leaf. In Thai, it is called "bo Phong phay" (in Kinh, it means burn tree, a tree with leaves similar to tea trees). When picking the leaves, just wash them, crush them, and apply them to the burned area.

For severe burns or small children, squeeze out the juice, discard the pulp, then use cotton to apply the medicine to the painful area. Those who live far away can use dried aloe vera leaves, steep them, put them in a clean cloth, squeeze out the juice and apply it to the burn." He also added that although the medicine is made from only one type of leaf, it is highly effective in treating all types of burns, from water burns, gasoline burns, electrical burns to lime burns...

Precious medicinal leaves have the ability to effectively treat burns and heal scars. Photo: TG

With many years of experience in treating burns, he explained his family's traditional medicine: "When burned, the injured area will be very hot and painful. Therefore, the first thing to do is to quickly cool the burned area to relieve the pain. Avocado leaves are cold, after applying, the medicine will penetrate and make the entire burned area stop hurting and dry quickly. Moreover, this medicinal leaf also has antiseptic effects, stimulating the cell regeneration process. For burns that damage the skin and flesh (degrees I, II, III), it only takes 10 to 20 days to heal completely. If the burn is deep to the tendons and bones (degrees IV, V), it will also take 1 to 2 months to heal completely."

The miracle of the traditional medicine that makes people everywhere seek help from this "miracle doctor" is not only because of the simple and quick treatment method, but also because of its ability to heal scars. "It is very difficult to make a burn wound heal as it was originally after the injury. Therefore, the victim must abstain from certain raw and hot foods such as eggs, crabs, snails, shrimp, dog meat, and some foods containing sticky rice flour. If during the process of skin cell regeneration, the patient eats these foods, it will cause white, wrinkled patches to form on the skin surface. Sticky rice will make the wound fester, spread, and take longer to heal," said the "miracle doctor" who cures burns.

Saving people is joy, is happiness

With his family's traditional burn remedy and his 27-year-old wish to do good and save people, he has saved the lives of thousands of burn accident victims without asking for a single penny. Even in serious cases, he takes them to their homes for convenient treatment. "People with burns come from all over to ask for medicine, there are many who come to my house, there are also people who live far away and I send medicine to them, there are thousands of people, I never record names and addresses, how can I remember them all", the "miracle doctor" said with a kind smile.

Because of his noble medical ethics, poor people from all over the commune come to his family for help whenever someone gets burned. "Everyone in this commune trusts Mr. Thinh's medicine. Whenever someone gets burned, they run to ask for medicine. Strangers from all over the place hear about him and come here. Mr. Thinh never boasts about his work or charges money. Whoever asks for it, he just takes the medicine as a charity," affirmed Mr. Lo Phuc Hiem, head of Da village.

When mentioning the miracle doctor Thinh with his burn treatment, the people of Da village still remember clearly the story of Lu Thi Van who was severely burned 5 years ago. At that time, Van was not yet two years old, just learning to walk, and accidentally fell into a boiling pot of bran, causing severe burns all over her body. At that time, Van's mother quickly picked up her child and ran to Mr. Thinh's house to call for help. Luckily, he was promptly treated, and in just a short time, Van was completely healed. "At that time, my body was as hot as coal, my skin was red and gray, I was in so much pain that I kept crying. But after 20 minutes of Uncle Thinh applying the medicine, my child stopped crying completely," Van's mother recalled.

Mr. Ha Van Chinh, a victim of lime burns, has recovered after several months of treatment. Photo: TG

Most recently, Ha Van Chinh (19 years old, in Chieng Ban village, Quang Hien commune, Lang Chanh district) slipped and fell into a pit of boiling lime, causing severe burns on 2/3 of his body, endangering his life. "That day, when people pulled Chinh out of the lime pit, he struggled in pain, had difficulty breathing, and his entire skin was severely burned. Because he knew about Mr. Thinh's reputation before, his brother and uncle took Chinh to his house in time. Luckily, they met the doctor and medicine, otherwise, he would not have survived. At that time, the skin was so ripe that it fell off in patches, and it was thought that it could not be cured, but unexpectedly, it was cured after more than 2 months," Chinh's mother recounted. Remembering the benefactor who saved his life, every year during the holidays, Chinh still travels dozens of kilometers of forest roads to visit Mr. Thinh's family.

Not only does he give free medicine to help people around him, Mr. Thinh is willing to show people his family's traditional medicine. He confided: "I don't make a living by dispensing medicine, so I still have to work in the fields every day. I'm afraid that when I'm busy with farming and away from home, I won't be able to get medicine for the sick in time. So whoever comes to ask for it, I'll show them this precious medicine, in case the patient's family member gets burned, they can be treated in time." For victims in remote areas, such as Thanh Hoa city, Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, who hear about the medicine and call to ask for it, he is willing to spend his own money to send the medicine by bus to the patient. With the thought of "saving one life is worth as much as the sands of the Ganges", he always takes saving people as his joy and happiness, regardless of money or fame.

Saying goodbye to him, the wish of the doctor who saved people was still fresh in his mind: "I only hope that the medicine will be widely disseminated to everyone, especially the unfortunate victims of burn accidents, to avoid delays in treatment and unfortunate consequences."

According to Family and Society