As the patient say so the vaidya believe…..Origin of AYUSH drugs

How the therapeutic effect of drugs should be understood and evaluated and how and when a substance can be defined as drug? How most of the AYUSH products are evaluated, defined and qualified as drug and medical science? The above questions, our nation must ask sooner than later.

In our discussion with some AYUSH vaidyas irrespective of the fact, whether they come as parambarya vaidya or institutionally qualified vaidya, often they claim that the patients say the AYUSH products are effective, so they are drugs.

When patients say they are effective, naturally the vaidyas who had prescribed such products have strong reason to celebrate and believe the products to be effective. But are they drugs even if they are effective? Can we establish such effects scientifically, reproduce and conclude that all such effects are only due to such products?

When we pose the same question to a limited number of patients, they answered the question differently but sensing the same message. Their answer was that they believe the

1. AYUSH products are effective because they come with long tradition and long legacy
2. AYUSH products are effective because mostly the parambarya AYUSH vaidyas prescribed them
3. AYUSH products are effective because that is how they are promoted and popularized
4. AYUSH products are effective because they are absolutely safe

All the four answers reflected by different patients show a uniform and stereotyped pattern. The pattern is that it is the pre-scripted belief that makes them to believe AYUSH products to be effective and none of them have either seriously evaluated or really experienced.

It is like the explanation of belief in God. Believers might say, they believe because they believe or they were told and trained so. If we probe further, some coincidences might come as great proof or evidence for the faith in God.

The humorous part in the whole drama is that vaidya believes the word of patient and the patient believes the word of vaidya, as final. No wonder how true is the book ‘The Doctor’s word’ by RK Narayan.

Where is the scientific quest and pursuit of AYUSH vaidya’s in defining AYUSH products as drug other than the mere endorsement of the patients?

The bigger humor and wit is that our country has not only given legal and technical status to AYUSH as system of medicine but also to its products as drug. Further, the AYUSH is credited with the posh titles such as time tested, holistic, age old, the future of humanity etc.

If patient believes and say something is effective and therefore those who prescribe such products believe such products are scientifically proven and the Government approves all such practices and definitions as sacred, scientific and system of medicine means, why we shy to recognize black magic, witch craft, ghost removal and many other superstitious belief system and give them medical or scientific status? The people who undergo all such practices if say are effective, then all those black magicians etc., have every right to believe in their practices because they are evidence based and scientific. Then all such practices must get legal sanction from the Government.

The ginger or pepper or goose berry etc., that are sold in the market, we treat as vegetable or condiments but when the same ginger is dried and powered or pepper or goose berry are powdered similarly, they become drug and or drug ingredient? Tribala, Trikadu etc., have come as drugs only through such transformation.

Even the toxic metals like Merucry, Arsenic, Lead etc., are also treated as drugs by AYUSH. But they claim that through some unique process, they convert such toxic metals to drugs. Where is the proof for attenuation of toxicity or proof of efficacy? How they attenuated the toxicity?

One of the proofs is that when the processed metals are placed on water must float. How the physical alteration will prove it is safe?

If the patient say something is effective to the doctor and therefore the doctor believes such products to be drug, then the drug development is quite easy. There is no need for scientific research, safety evaluation etc. All that the drug requires is just the patient’s statement that the product is effective.

Another school also emerge from this confusion and that is when something is effective, why to know the details like what, why, how, such product works etc., ?

When faith and tradition are sufficient to develop drugs and treat diseases, why we need science, science education? We should in fact open many philosophy, religion and faith centres nation wide to produce doctors and drugs.

All those who consume alcohol starting from school students to septuagenarians do say alcohol is quite effective and helps them to attain feeling of wellbeing. Similarly the smokers do have own experience to show the goodness of smoking. Can we base the above testaments of ‘users’ of approve and legalize alcohol and cigarettes have health benefits and are scientifically proven?

Logic can justify a crime and logic can also establish a crime. Can we afford to get lost in such logics?

Science shows us several micro and nano variability’s exist in any set of observations. This shows how unpredictable the outcome can be if such variability’s are not considered. If we miss the science, we may fail to understand the micro factors and as a result, we may assume the end result to be always same from a given practice. All that white coloured substances are milk and therefore are nutritious become the biggest scientific buzz we may propagate.

In the name of respecting our tradition, can we afford to inflate and ignite psedo science? Can we gift such practices medical science to innocent and impecunious people in rural India?

During festival season, the holy water from temple is sprinkled in entire house to purify. In the name of purification, can we integrate such science less, faith based ancient practices along with scientifically proven allopathic science?

Can we afford to fix a punctured tier in good vehicle and make it run? By doing so, are we not ruining the performance of the good vehicle?

Why we are passionately dispassionate towards science and obsessive compulsive disordered towards faith based AYUSH?

Even all those scientifically proven drugs from allopathic system are showing up some new side effects with time. Then what would be the plight of many unproven, the so called ‘AYUSH’ drugs?

Has the Government of any state in India studied in detail to understand scientifically why we dispense both some AYUSH products and allopathic drugs from PHC’s, CHC’s etc? Have we understood why patients are given these products free of cost? Do the patients really require these products and what medical benefit they have achieved?

Is it like giving flower or holy water from the temple as ‘prasad’, we are dispensing AYUSH products along with allopathic drugs from PHC’s, CHC’s etc? In fact, when we provide both AYUSH drugs and allopathic drugs, the disease burden should be abysmally low? Is that true? Is the disease burden in rural India is least and disease burden is high in urban settlement?

In the name of ancient tradition and time tested holistic medical science, are we not ruining our health care system? Are we not dividing our society into two unequal halves one based on faith and the other based on science? If AYUSH were effective medical science, why large number of institutionally qualified AYUSH vaidyas in private practice are engaged in cross pathy and demand such rights. Are the institutionally qualified AYUSH vaidyas not sabotaging the efforts of all those AYUSH graduates working in Government institutions?

Hope time is not away, better we use science to define drug, not faith and belief. AYUSH must be promoted as paramedical practice and not as medical system.

Dr S Ranganathan