Traditional healing: Is it effective?<\/p>\n
As the appeal to get back to nature grows stronger, more and
\nmore people are turning to alternative healing and medicine. Does
\nthis truly heal? The Jakarta Post discusses this issue in
\nconjunction with National Health Day, which falls today. More
\nstories on Page 6.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Traditional healing has long been criticized by
\ncertain people in the community, but last year it gained
\ncredibility with the government's decision to include it in the
\nnational medical system.<\/p>\n
Many people are turning to traditional medicine and
\nalternative healing. They are going back to nature.<\/p>\n
Alternative medicine has been around for ages, and long after
\nthe introduction of chemical medication and professionally
\ntrained doctors, it remains popular.<\/p>\n
Alternative medicine practitioners examine patients without a
\nstethoscope, or other modern instrument. Soetijono Darsosentono,
\nwho claims he can cure cancer, is armed with a Koran. He puts the
\nholy book above the patient's head and prays before giving the
\npatient medicine: traditional herbs made from the leaves of
\nbenalu (Loranthes sp.), tapak dara (Catharanthus roseus, Vinca
\nrosea or Lochnera rosea) and sirih (betel).<\/p>\n
Handoyo Lukman uses a pendulum to analyze the electrostatic
\nsignals of his patients. Lukman, whose practice is in Purworejo,
\nCentral Java, combines what is called radiesthesia, or the
\nscience of pendulum, and medical science in the therapy.<\/p>\n
Lukman believes that the ability to heal is a gift from God.
\nPeople acquire the talent either by accident, through training,
\nor hereditarily.<\/p>\n
Acupuncturists make use of needles, but Prof. Hembing
\nWijayakusuma, a graduate of the Chinese Medicine College in Hong
\nKong, has replaced needles with bee stings. Hembing, chairman of
\nthe Association of Indonesian Traditional Medicine and
\nAcupuncture, has received various international awards for his
\ndiscoveries in alternative medicine, including the bee-sting
\ntherapy.<\/p>\n
Retno Widati kneads certain nerves of a patient and rolls
\nburning incense just above the skin to improve blood circulation.
\nShe helps people with sexual and infertility problems.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Afif Solichin, a healer and an artist, draws the
\npatient's rajah (anatomy) before the healing process. The
\ndrawing, which is full of symbols, is meant to give the healer
\nand the patient spiritual confidence. With the help of such
\ndrawings, combined with an unexplained supernatural power,
\nSolichin is said to be able to remove tumors from fully conscious
\npatients.<\/p>\n
There are also healers like Sabihi Mudasir, who practice pijit
\nrefleksi, or reflexology.<\/p>\n
\"The first time I saw him was four or five years ago. He gave
\nme a massage for myopia, and it worked,\" Ahmad, one of his
\npatients, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Since then he always comes to see Mudasir whenever he does not
\nfeel well.<\/p>\n
Most traditional healers don't have formal medical education.
\nThey learn about healing methods from their ancestors and books,
\nor by experience. But others, including Hembing, attended medical
\nschool. Part of alternative healing includes the prescribing of
\ntraditional herbs.<\/p>\n
Medicinal plants<\/p>\n
Indonesia is rich in medicinal plants.<\/p>\n
Pharmacologist Sardjono Oerip Santoso from University of
\nIndonesia said that 940 of the 7,000 cultivated plants in the
\ncountry are used as medicines.<\/p>\n
In June, Sardjono started testing traditional herbs on animals
\nin the hope of finding a cure for cancer.<\/p>\n
There are plants that have the potential to prevent Human
\nImmunodeficiency Virus from worsening, but further study is
\nneeded, he said.<\/p>\n
Globally, the belief in traditional medicine's potential grows
\nas modern medicine sometimes proves to be ineffective.<\/p>\n
Luc Montagnier, who isolated HIV 12 years ago, has recently
\ncalled for any possible means to fight AIDS, including the
\ntesting of traditional drugs. But he said the testing should be
\nconducted rationally and with intensive long-term laboratory
\nexperiments.<\/p>\n
Alternative medicine is growing in popularity, but many modern
\ndoctors refuse to accept its effectiveness.<\/p>\n
The case of Gunawan Simon in 1985 is still fresh in the minds
\nof many people. It was a prominent case at the time and
\nhighlighted the modern medical community's staunch opposition to
\nalternative healing.<\/p>\n
Gunawan was expelled from the Indonesian Medical Association
\nin 1985 because he gave his patients herbal medicines, which he
\nformulated himself. Among his patients was Adam Malik, a former
\nvice president, who died from cancer earlier in the same year.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Medical Association chairman Azrul Azwar said that
\nGunawan's membership from the organization was revoked because he
\nrefused to have any clinical tests done on his concoctions.<\/p>\n
The organization recognizes acupuncture because it has been
\nscientifically proven. But it does not acknowledge reflexology,
\nradiesthesia or other alternative healing methods, especially
\nthose related to supernatural powers.<\/p>\n
Azwar said that he has conducted his own research on
\nreflexology. \"I found that, unlike acupuncturists, reflexologists
\ndo not have a (universal) system. Every reflexologist has their
\nown system,\" Azwar told the Post.<\/p>\n
Even though some patients claim to be totally cured by herbs,
\nor alternative treatments, Azwar is skeptical. The patients may
\nrecover by accident, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe the patients did not really have cancer and the early
\nmedical diagnosis was wrong,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He recommended that clinical trials be conducted to prove the
\neffectiveness of herbal medicines and alternative healing
\nmethods.<\/p>\n
The call for scientific study may serve as a caution for the
\npublic to take much care. Traditional medical practitioners may
\ntruly heal, but their work needs to be properly evaluated.
\n(sim\/jsk)<\/p>",
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