Finally, nudged by Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev withdraw his statement on allopathy. questioning some of the medicines being used to treat the coronavirus infection he said that lakhs have died from taking allopathic medicines for Covid-19′ which cannot be completely ruled out. However, it should be assumed that he had to withdraw his comments following the stringent criticism from the union ministry that has been supporting the Patanjali for a few years.
The fact is that more than 138 million patients are harmed every year by doctors’ errors, as per the statistics by the World Health Organization (WHO). The warning was made just a few days before celebrating the first World Patient Safety Day, with which it seeks to raise awareness of this ongoing tragedy. Errors in diagnosis, errors in medicine prescriptions and treatments, and the inappropriate use of drugs are the three main reasons why so many patients harmed, says the WHO.
All medicines can cause unwanted side effects. For example, some antibiotics can cause allergic reactions in around five per cent of the population. Skin rashes are a common reaction. Let’s take the example of medicine that is available even in grocery shops in India – Paracetamol is known to cause liver failure in overdose, but it also causes liver failure in people taking standard doses for pain relief. It doesn’t mean that the medicine doesn’t have any ill effect if used judiciously, but just that the side effect is not immediately visible.
Although the potentially fatal consequences of taking a paracetamol overdose are well known, the widespread belief has been that the drug is mild and relatively safe if taken at the recommended dose. The case is not limited to paracetamol, antimicrobial resistance is a global public health challenge, which has accelerated the overuse of antibiotics worldwide. Increased antimicrobial resistance is the cause of severe infections, complications, longer hospital stays and increased mortality. The stories continue, while many of the allopathic medicines leave a person permanently ill, a common man never has access to those researches that reveal shocking facts about the so-called modern medicine.
Amidst all these, the more disturbing fact is that, as soon as a student completes his bachelors in medicine, they develop an attitude against all other branches of medicine calling it unscientific. Probably a result of brainwashing, a student by the time he/she completes his education turn against branches of medicine such as Ayurveda that have been existing here for ages. It is evident from media reports that a massive group of people who are trained so behaves like goons if there is a remark against modern medicine. Unfortunately, the changing governments succumb to the pressure when the medical associations threaten a strike that may cause panic in society.
Remember, there are veteran doctors like Dr. BM Hegde who has been speaking much about the ill practices in the field of modern medicine. As Baba Ramdev said, allopathy has been serving humanity through the continuous progress it made, however, there should be awareness among people regarding the dangers of these prescribed medicines. There should be a change in the attitude of allopathy doctors towards the rest of the branches of medicine which has to start from medical universities. Though the government is trying their best to bring a positive change in the curriculum, often the changes are minimal fearing the protest of the ‘modern doctors’.
India has a rich tradition, where Ayurveda has been the very part of the life of people for thousands of years. The medicines prescribed by classic ayurvedic texts are not results of a few months or years of research, but have been time tested having been used for ages. Branches of medicine such as Ayurveda must become the first choice while managing a disease, whereas allopathy has to be considered only as emergency medicine. The strategy is important in order to have a healthy generation. Education in the world, starting from kindergarten, should focus more on a healthy lifestyle and preventive aspect of medicine. This is the only solution in front of us!
IMA can stop Baba Ramdev, who brought revolutionary changes in the healthcare industry in India, for his remarks on the pharma industry, however, there is a majority who believes in what he said that includes eminent doctors from the same branch who has recognised the dangers of the medicines they prescribe or the way they harm the world.
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