Despite the advances made in medicine, many in the city continue to be duped by roadside quacks or vaids
Bengaluru has 25000 registered ayurvedic doctors. (Photo: DC)
Bengaluru: “We can cure diabetes, ulcers, arthritis, andeven infertility,” boasts Manoj, who calls himself a vaidhyaji (ayurvedic practitioner) and claims to diagnose ailments by merely feeling the pulse of his patients.
A board outside his little shop called Himalaya Herbal Medicine Camp near the KR Puram Railway station, proudly announces his so-called skills even while he admits to relying on the knowledge passed on by his family for generations to treat his patients. People who come to him are willing to pay his asking fee which ranges from Rs 100 to Rs 800 depending on the gravity of the problem.
Tucked away in a corner of HAL is another vaidhyaji with a string of faithful followers, who blindly accept his ‘diagnosis’ made by feeling their pulse and pay around Rs 20 for it. His shop, ‘Ratan Purush Ayurvedic Dawakhana’ has a board that proudly proclaims, “first time in your city we treat with cool and fresh herbal medicines taken from the Vedas.”
Although these vaids don’t claim to have any formal training in ayurveda or homeopathy, they are in much demand. “Business is good” they say, when asked, and claim to see between three to five patients per day. With no idea about the guidelines issued by the Drug Controller of India, these quacks dispense ayurvedic medicines for a variety of disorders and ailments from shops on wheels that are gaining popularity among people looking for alternative and cheap solutions to allopathy in the city.
While the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 prohibits advertisements of drugs and remedies that claim to have magical properties, there seems to be no stopping these vaids who are often found near the ITPL mall, Whitefield, Tannery Road, near the Shantinagar bus stand, Uttarahalli main road, near Bowring Hospital, in Kaggadasapura and near some construction sites to attract the labour class.
Calling such practitioners a clear health risk, Dr S. Raghavendra Babu, ayurvedic physician and director, Siri Ayurveda Clinic, notes that ayurvedic physicians are not even allowed to prescribe Chawanprash unless they analyse the person’s physical traits and other issues. “We give medicines based on the drugs which have been prescribed in ayurvedic texts. People’s heath can suffer if the drugs are adulterated or have metal toxicity,” he warns.
“People should realise that if they want to take alternative medicine, they must go only to those who are authorised to prescribe them. Sadly all these shops give no bill or prescription,” says Dr Vishal Rao of the Institute of Public Health.
The selling point of tent practitioners or roadside quacks seems to be their claim to have a magic cure for sex related disorders.
“There a lot of people who don’t want to share such problems with a local practitioner or a big clinic and so choose these tents which they see as a safe bet as they are not permanent fixtures in their localities and move on, keeping their medical history safe. And adulteration of drugs gives them instant results,” says Dr Mohammed Rafi Hakeem, member of the Karnataka Ayurvedic and Unani Practitioners Board (KAUP).
“Recently I saw a tent shop near Shantinagar bus stand claiming it had the means to change a couple’s sex life. Sadly, such tent shops mix steroids with viagra and sell the drugs without any prescription. People who take them are obviously benefited, but this is not ayurveda,” asserts Dr S. Raghavendra Babu, who has been practicing ayurveda for over 14 years
“Magic remedies do not work. Desperate patients should beware of the tall claims made in advertisements,” warns Mr Rajiv Vasudevan, MD and CEO, AyurVAID, adding that patients often go looking for only symptomatic relief and throw themselves open to the risk of suffering serious side effects and addiction in the process.
“We must realise that if one has got fast relief for an old and severe condition the medicine must have been a strong one with the addition of big doses of painkillers or steroids,” he points out, clearly upset at people’s gullibility that allows the quacks to not only get away with their dubious practices but also flourish.
( Source : dc )
Next Story
