AYUSH for hype or health

Do we really need AYUSH just to speak about, sensationalize through hype and tradition linked emotional claims or for solving some of our emerging health challenges? Time has come we must answer such questions with trueness and science than patriotic or spiritual adventurism.

We need AYUSH more as paramedical wellness practice for solving some of our emerging health threats than for treating and curing diseases as like scientifically proven allopathic medicine and therefore we must commit to promoting AYUSH based on its paramedical strength and capabilities. We must stop making AYUSH as ‘superstar’ or ‘everlasting hero’ in the field of our current medical science.

Live long was the biggest challenge the mankind had since several hundred of years till the beginning of the century. Science, scientifically proven an allopathic system of medicine and many other gadgets for accurate diagnosis of diseases were not available then or were in a nascent stage. AYUSH had evolved in a holistic way during such period with all possible recipes to live healthy both physically and mentally. Some of the holistic practices include worship of God, Gurus, chant mantra, consult astrology etc.

In those days, death was almost assured once someone falls ill due to infectious agents because effective treatment was not available. Therefore to remain healthy and live long was the basic need than treating diseases assumes major focus.

With the advent of modern science, treatment to most of the curable diseases became possible. Further with the complete scientific knowledge of various infectious diseases, the etiology, and immunology, vaccines to prevent some of the deadly infectious diseases also could be achieved. All these developments in science have resulted in prolonging the life from almost immediate death from several infectious diseases that were prevalent in the past. Today we can even fix the date and time of birth of a child as well as postpone the death to another day with the help of science.

The ‘winner pride’ and arrogance of man on his ability and strength over many deadly infectious diseases like mumps, polio etc., inadvertently made him think he has already surpassed the universe and everything is under his feet. The overconfidence due to the scientific advancement, pressing challenges due to the comparison based lifestyle of how to look better and different from his neighbor has made him addicted to many alien lifestyles, food habits and thinking pattern. All of them have collectively resulted in increasing his vulnerability to various noncommunicable diseases. Here again, his science has come both as hero and villain. The science has certainly ensured his longer life (delayed death) and due to the prolonged life as insured by science simultaneously also has increased his prolonged and long term suffering from many incurable diseases.

Today even with multiple organ failure one can survive for days to moths with the help of life supporting system. When both kidneys fail to function, still one can survive through continuous dialysis until a donor's kidney is available for transplantation. All these collective advancements in science although has prolonged his life but has equally increased his health burden and suffering. Unfortunately, man is yet to ask or know why and how such situation has occurred.

Due to the availability of advanced medical science man is more after treating and extending his pitiable and miserable life than searching and finding the reasons or its origin or how to prevent them.

Today we could prolong our life at the cost of prolonged suffering but can we prevent suffering, its causes and increase the quality of life? Certainly, the answer is not far away. AYUSH can offer some meaning and sense to our healthy life.

Unfortunately instead of recognizing the usefulness of AYUSH for improving our health and quality of life as paramedical, wellness based practice, we have converted AYUSH totally as medical science, drug, and cure based system. Further, the graduates from such wonderful wellness cum paramedical practice we have legally defined as a doctor to diagnose and treat patients exactly like MBBS doctors.

As a result, we have ensured AYUSH to fail, fails even to own graduates (proof lies in rampant cross pathy), fails to people who hold faith in the system and fails the money it receives for its promotion from Government.

For example, the noncommunicable disease like Psoriasis is incurable. The disease is although incurable, about 70-80% of the time and duration, the disease would manifest more as noninflammatory, scaly, manageable problem. During this period, simple oils, emollients or some herbal preparations are sufficient. If we look at the present day market reality, AYUSH players largely crowd over the problems like Psoriasis, Vitiligo etc., to reap their harvest. The above example serves nothing but AYUSH is health and wellness proving system and not drug and cure based system. Therefore AYUSH needs to be re-notified as paramedical wellness based system and its graduates as wellness and health therapist and not as a doctor.

Due to increased health burden and suffering that come as a gift of our prolonged life, people have started to think how to remain healthy than how to prolong the life at the mercy of science. As a result, people have started to look back at nature, engaged in YOGA, morning walk, exercise, dieting etc. People are willing to follow all recipes for healthy life. After seeing patients with renal failure who live long but with regular dialysis and suffer miserably, the people are while of thinking and taking pride over medical science and its advancement, are also equally scary as how to avoid / prevent such medical problems. It means they have understood clearly the essence of preventing diseases as important as curing or treating.

Such ideal situation was never in existence for AYUSH before. Understanding and recognizing the ground truth, AYUSH vaidyas in private practice must spread the goodness of AYUSH than engaged in cross pathy. Having studied the course for 5 ½ years and claiming to be different and superior over paramarya vaidya, cross pathy, and quackery will never suit and look luminous to the institutionally qualified AYUSH vaidyas.

The government instead of promoting AYUSH just in a casual manner or under the patriotic tag, must promote AYUSH essentially and exclusively for wellness and paramedical benefits. The AYUSH vaidyas must be appointed in Government hospitals like PHC, CHC etc., not as a doctor but as wellness and health experts to offer home health management, creating health awareness, providing health tips for healthy life and providing help and assistance to patients during convalescent period. This holistic practice and service of AYUSH we must tap to make our country hale and healthy. Quackery either to hide the inefficiency of AYUSH or for own survival in private practice will not do any good either to our society, AYUSH or science.

S Ranganathan