Promoting the effectiveness of medicinal herbs

(Baonghean) - The motto "Southern medicine treats Southern people" of famous physician Tue Tinh is increasingly effective in treating diseases and saving people. In recent times, Nghe An's health sector has focused on developing Vietnamese medicinal plants. However, to achieve the goal of "Teacher at home, medicine in the garden", a lot of effort is needed...

Medicine in the garden

My Ly is a particularly difficult border commune of the mountainous district of Ky Son. The commune has 12 villages with 1,102 households, over 5,000 people (mainly Thai, Mong and Kho Mu ethnic groups). People's lives mainly depend on slash-and-burn farming, 86% of which are poor households. When people are sick, they have to rely on doctors and nurses at the commune health station for everything. Medical examination and treatment face many difficulties due to the fragmented terrain. By the time patients reach the commune center, their condition has worsened. Moreover, people here are very poor... How to improve people's health is a major concern for those working in the health sector. At the right time, the policy of encouraging the development of the traditional medicine network of the Ministry of Health, Nghe An Health Department and Ky Son district was issued. In particular, special attention was paid to building medicinal herb gardens and promoting and introducing medicinal herbs at medical examination and treatment facilities.

Doctor Vi Van Thang, Head of My Ly Commune Health Station, said: After the new health station was built, the station started building a medicinal herb garden with an area of ​​40m2, with over 30 common and easy-to-grow medicinal plants such as: Mugwort, basil, lemon, lemongrass, perilla, ginger, chives, fan palm, ginseng... These medicinal herbs are very effective in treating colds, typhoid, sore throat, clearing heat, reducing inflammation, dengue fever, muscle and joint pain... After completing the construction of the medicinal herb garden, the health station conducted propaganda to the people through the construction of image boards and information about the uses of medicinal herbs to treat common diseases for people to learn. In addition, the health staff of the station equipped themselves with knowledge about simple medicinal herbs to guide people in implementing them; the station advised to include them in the Resolution of the Party Committee - People's Council - People's Committee of the commune to direct implementation.

The construction of traditional medicine gardens at the station as well as in families in the villages has brought good results. Ms. Kha Thi Ngoc, 27 years old, Pieng Pen village said: Recently, her son, Lo Minh, 4 years old, had a severe hand burn from boiling water. She was instructed by the doctors at the station to pull out the plantain, turmeric, and aloe vera plants planted around the garden, wash them, and pound them to apply on the wound. After about a week, the burn was completely healed... Doctor Thang said: Every month, about 200 people come to the station for medical examination and treatment. Each time they come for medical examination and treatment, the doctors at the station propagate to the people about the effectiveness of traditional medicine plants such as using fish mint to reduce fever, guava leaves to treat diarrhea, and pomegranate seeds, lemon tree roots, mulberry roots, or fan palm roots for sore throat. Up to now, many families in the commune have planted traditional medicine plants around their houses to treat diseases.

At the Huu Kiem Commune Health Station, the rate of patients using traditional medicine to treat diseases is about 30%. Ms. Vi Thi Khuyen, Head of the Commune Health Station, said: Every Muong of the Thai, Mong, and Kho Mu ethnic groups has elderly people who know how to collect medicinal herbs and treat diseases. She herself has known many traditional medicinal plants since childhood, every time she was sick, her mother always used herbs from the garden to make medicine to treat diseases. Later, she became interested in the medical profession, approached many simple but effective oriental medicine recipes, she understood more clearly the great effects of traditional medicinal plants on human health and was determined to make people in the area understand the value of medicinal plants and use them to treat diseases.

The Huu Kiem Commune Health Station built a model medicinal herb garden on a part of the station's area with more than 40 medicinal plants of various kinds. The station has brought traditional medicine to the people through propaganda, introducing medicinal plants and the healing effects of each type of plant. "Slow and steady wins the race" by many measures such as: providing guidance on medicinal herbs for patients coming to the station for examination and treatment; propaganda through the team of commune health collaborators, even propaganda through patients who have been cured by traditional medicine methods...

“Doctor at home, medicine in the garden, treatment on the spot”, implementing this motto well, oriental medicine has gradually been widely applied among the people of Thach Giam commune, Tuong Duong district (a commune that meets the national criteria for health in the period 2011-2020). Doctor Dau Thi Hoa, Head of the Commune Health Station shared: Building a model medicinal herb garden has great significance. Not only introducing medicinal herbs and how to use them, ward and commune health stations also encourage people to propagate these plants in their home gardens for use when needed. In addition, medicinal herb gardens also create landscapes, increase green and fresh space for medical examination and treatment facilities. The station always focuses on combining modern medicine with traditional medicine to help achieve high efficiency in disease treatment while limiting the possibility of side effects for patients...

There are many difficulties

It is clear that traditional medicine is very effective in treating diseases. However, it is also difficult to propagate and mobilize people to use traditional medicine as well as to bring traditional medicine into treatment at health stations. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phong, Director of Ky Son District Health Center, said: Currently, most of the commune and town health stations have built model traditional medicine gardens. However, maintaining the medicinal garden is not simple, especially in harsh weather conditions. Secondly, the application of traditional medicine is still difficult in terms of equipment and lack of traditional medicine specialists. The health stations do not have a team of specialists, if they contract outside, it is difficult to manage and supervise the expertise. And even traditional medicine doctors when working at the station want to be able to take the pulse and prescribe medicine, they need to be trained to meet the requirements of the job. Currently, the new stations mainly propagate and instruct people on how to use traditional medicine plants to treat diseases...

Taking care of the herbal medicine garden at Ha Huy Tap Ward Health Station (Vinh City).

Compared to medical stations in mountainous areas, promoting the effectiveness of medicinal herb gardens and treating diseases with oriental medicine at medical stations in the plains is more favorable. At the Ha Huy Tap Ward Medical Station (Vinh City), doctors and nurses here have devoted more than 30 square meters to make a model medicinal herb garden and planted 60 types of medicinal plants with 9 groups of medicinal herbs. At the same time, each type of medicinal plant has a board with the scientific name, common name, used parts and uses of the medicinal plant. Care is carried out regularly to ensure that the medicinal plants grow well. The station invests in a traditional medicine examination and treatment room with sufficient minimum equipment for examination and treatment, including a pharmacy counter, multi-compartment medicine cabinet, electroacupuncture machine, infrared lamp, suction cup set, and auxiliary tools such as a knife, grinding boat, medicinal herb grinder, and medicinal slicer. The station also arranges an acupuncture room and a medicine preparation room. Doctor Tran Dinh Can, station chief, said: Another advantage is that there is a large number of traditional medicine practitioners in the area, many of whom actively participate in medical examination and treatment. The activities of associations, unions, and hamlets are very strong, so through that, the remedies and effects of traditional medicinal plants are propagated to all people. People in the ward are all well aware of the effectiveness of traditional medicine and traditional medicinal plants.

However, the number of medical stations that can do the same as Ha Huy Tap ward can only be counted on the "fingers", such as Dien Dong Commune Medical Station, Dien Chau District, Hung Thong Commune Medical Station, Hung Nguyen District... Many medical stations, for many reasons, have not yet built a model medicinal garden, and if they have, the model medicinal garden of the station is poor, stunted, and some medicinal plants only have nameplates left. It is known that in the whole province, there is still no medical station that can produce pills and powders. Pharmacist Hoang Van Hao, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, Chairman of the Provincial Oriental Medicine Association, said: In recent years, our province has paid great attention to the development of traditional medicine and pharmacy, especially the combination of traditional medicine with modern medicine. However, the application of medicinal plants and traditional medicine at medical stations has not yet been achieved, less than 40% of patients are treated with traditional medicine.

In the coming time, the Health sector and the Oriental Medicine Association will continue to proactively implement many synchronous solutions, in which the work of propaganda, raising awareness for people about the benefits of medical examination and treatment with traditional medicine, instructing people on how to use, grow and care for some common medicinal plants is given top priority. The work of training, fostering and improving the skills of the team of traditional doctors and pharmacists is also given due attention. Currently, the Health sector is focusing on developing human resources to meet immediate and long-term needs, increasing professional staff to direct lower levels and building advanced training plans, inheriting by combining traditional medicine with modern medicine to meet the needs of staff at all levels... To develop traditional medicine, the participation of local authorities, doctors and patients is still needed.

Thanh Son