My first memories of popular medicine go back to my childhood. In my family certain illnesses, wounds or bruises were treated with herbs or other means never mentioned by our doctors or pharmacists. These treatments were often successful, although one may suspect that only their successes were talked about, not their failures…
As a student in the US, I spent a summer working with Navajo Indians in New Mexico. I met one of their respected medicine men. He impressed me by his knowledge of health problems and by the numerous “unconventional” means he knew to treat them. I should add that he actually was obliged to treat these patients, as there were no “scientific” doctors available on the Indian reservation.
Also, during my diplomatic assignment to Russia, I remember how my Russian doctor friends just laughed when “old women cures” were talked about. And yet, given the unbelievable shortcomings of soviet health care, many patients turned to traditional “healers”. I came to know some of them personally and met a few of their patients, who assured me that they had been cured or at least greatly relieved of pain and handicap.
Of course, I do not think that in countries like Luxembourg, popular health care should ever take the place of western (i.e. scientific) medicine. But why should we not make use also of age-old experience in this field? I thus believe that Traditional Chinese Medicine can play a positive role as an ancillary complement to scientific methods. All the more, as there are many examples of western research inspired or based on time old popular knowledge or tradition, I therefore express the hope that the newly created association, “MedChine” asbl, may be able to play a positive role in counselling people who ask for advice and help through the methods and means of Chinese health care.
Guy de Muyser