Promoting AYUSH as Medical Science is not good for India? Why and How?

How and why promoting AYUSH as medical science is dangerous to our country - India? Why legalizing cross pathy by AYUSH vaidyas is even more dangerous?

These questions are always there in the realm of our nation and we often discuss such questions again and again but have not taken any clear decision on promoting AYUSH for paramedical benefits, end cross pathy and qualified quackery.

The proponents of AYUSH always claim that various health care practices under AYUSH are 2000 to 5000-year-old, it has rich empirical evidence, cure the root cause of the problem, not just the symptoms like allopathy (based on their claim), it is holistic etc.

The science lessness of AYUSH has been raised by several people across the world. But patriotism and absurd obsession over ancient tradition easily surpass science and thus AYUSH continue to receive support from Government to exist as medical science barring its relevance, complete insolvency in science and contributions to our health care system.

From a demographic point of view also promoting AYUSH as medical science is dangerous to a country like India. AYUSH must be promoted for the paramedical benefit.

Various health care practices under AYUSH perhaps would have existed several hundred years ago when scientifically proven medical science was not available or developed. In those days, the population was also very low and was settled sparsely in any given locality. Communication and commutation facilities were not available in those days and hence the movement people from one region to another were almost rare to nil.

In those days, when someone falls sick due to infectious diseases, the patient would naturally live in an isolated confinement or with a limited number of his or her relatives. Their interaction with others in the society was always minimal.

So when such patients were treated by AYUSH vaidyas in those days, the treatment failure or success had no great impact on the society. Further, the scientifically proven drugs were also not available to compare the efficacy of AYUSH treatment. If the treatment was successful, more people naturally would identify such treatment to be effective and otherwise, everyone would agree to the universal truth that it was due to the karma of the previous birth of the patient and although the vidya tried his best but could not undo the ill-effects of such karma. The system or vaidya were never questioned or scrutinized.

But imagine the situation today. Human settlement is disproportionate with the space in any given locality. Imagine someone living in such densely populated society suddenly contracts Cholera or Diarrhea or Dengue, Chikungunya etc., it can spread rapidly and reach an epidemic to the pandemic proportion in no time if diagnosis and treatment are either delayed or goes wrong.

Imagine the plight of the patient, when the patient is treated with the medical system which has no proven and effective drugs like AYUSH………..?

If AYUSH is promoted as paramedical wellness and health practice, the AYUSH graduates will naturally engage only in providing paramedical practice and never play the role of doctor. The government must change its policy urgently and AYUSH must be promoted as paramedical wellness based practice. AYUSH as medical system is not good for our country.

If we look at the advanced countries like US, UK, and other EU countries, even the water in the garden or in the lavatory is portable. Such water will not have a coliform count or other microbes. In such countries, people largely suffer more from various lifestyle associated problems where AYUSH can provide an excellent paramedical service.

Due to the high population density, high rate of illiteracy and penury of people living in rural India, the unscientific system like AYUSH should not be promoted as medical science and instead, its role must be defined clearly limiting to paramedical benefits like massage therapy, YOGA, Shirodhara, panchakarma etc.

Another problem also India suffers the worst. Most people irrespective of the fact whether educated or uneducated, always tend to resort to self-medication. In most cases, the self-medication may work and in some cases, it may not work. Only when the self-medication fails, the patients may move to the doctor, this is the general practice in India. Imagine such patients are diagnosed with some unscientific means of AYUSH and are treated with AYUSH products post self-medication failure, are we not risking just the life of patient alone but also contributing effectively to the spread disease to others in the society.

We must understand the reality of our present day society and must also accept the science less diagnostic procedures and unproven products of AYUSH that are promoted as medical science in our country and it can do more harm than any good. Let us not trap the innocence and faith of people in the name of AYUSH.

When we allow AYUSH to continue to exist as medical science without any scientific merit and the graduates from such system as a doctor, we are making nothing but a mockery of our health care system.

Ironically the diseases like Dengue or Chikungunya etc., are allowed to be treated by Siddha vaidya according to their system, Ayurveda vaidy will be treating with own recipes so and so forth by other schools under AYUSH?

If we ask which drug is effective, naturally Siddha vaidy would say Siddha drugs, Ayurveda would say Ayurveda products and so on and so forth. If we ask the department of AYUSH, they would say it is traditionally evolved and hence such questions cannot be answered. Can we promote such system as a scientific system of medicine to poor people in rural India?

The disease burden in India is linked not just with poor hygiene or malnourishment alone it is linked with economic, educational and spiritual aspects of people. Due to religious reasons like halal and haram, young children are not given some vaccination in certain communities even in states like 100% literate Kerala. Our health problems are not due to the insufficiency of doctors or drugs, but due to abundance. Such people and such society need scientifically proven and effective drugs and diagnostic system and not faith based or tradition based paramedical practice.

We suffer the worst in providing best primary health care facilities and not secondary or tertiary care. Primary health care must be through proven medical science and not through faith-based AYUSH. Once primary care is done through scientific medicine, we have almost achieved the goal of providing good health care system.

The message is that AYUSH as a medical system, drug, diagnosis and cure based science is dangerous to a country like India although we may claim it has evolved in India.

It is like water in our body is called part of body fluid until it gets filtered by the kidney and then enters the urinary bladder. Once it reaches the urinary bladder, it has to be excreted out because it is not only waste but also harmful if not excreted out immediately. We cannot hold onto the logic of, is it not come from our own system and how it can be unsafe etc.

Promoting AYUSH as the paramedical system will certainly do some good to rich people in the society and those who suffer from various incurable diseases where palliative, counseling, and paramedical nondrug therapy may give some solace.

Let us pledge to end cross pathy, qualified quackery and mobile cross pathy (instead of prescribing, telling the chemists to shop to dispense allopathic drugs to patients by some AYUSH vaidyas in private practice) and promote AYUSH for paramedical benefits.

Similarly let us remove AYUSH from D&C act and make rules pertaining to quality and help industries to promote AYUSH products as wellness products, food supplements, ‘nondrug medicinal products’ etc., so that AYUSH products can be easily exported and foreign exchange can be earned for the country.

Dr S Ranganathan