The Myth Of A Local Healer

Even after hospitals and basic health units have covered almost every corner of the nation attending to the needs of the sick citizens, some still believe the myth of the powerful local healers. They usually seek the help of local healers when they lose faith in the care from health care workers when they suffer from chronic morbid diseases and malignant conditions. They hear rumors and stories of how the local healer treats those hopeless sick people and free them from the chronic illness. Their faith and trust are doubled by these magical and astonishing stories. Being a health practitioner, we advise patients to never opt for local healing as it is hazardous to health. For instance, for chronic stomach ache some prefer to go to the healer to ease their pain, whereby their belly is cut opened with unsterilized blades and blood is drained out. It further increases the chances of sepsis and injury to the underlying veins and arteries which the local healer is unaware of. Medicine is based on scientific proof and clinical investigations, whereby the patients are treated accordingly.I came across my patient who had circular marked bruises on his right cheek, which was due to a procedure done by the local healer to ease his severe tooth ache. I advised him to forbid visiting local healers when we have health care workers. They don’t read anatomies, they don’t do investigations and they don’t have the competency to heal others. So on what basis do the people still seek their service?? I had been wondering and I still wonder. It’s even harder to convince them to avoid getting treatment from the local healers.

After crossing miles of ranges and few rivers, I came across a two storied house. The lower storey was build with stamped mud and the upper with kneaded bamboos. A tap was build just in front of the house. The toilet was build outside with another water tap near it. Beside the tap was an open shed like structures most probably for wood work. After sitting for a while on his sofa, we were offered cup of tea each. The patient wished him and he was all smiles. The patiemt offered him plastic bag filled with fruit juices and biscuits. He says "you should not have taken all this trouble." He had the sleeves of his gho tied on his belly exposing his blue, black and white stripped polo shirt. His head was grey with white hairs signifying he has passed his youthful days. He had two black rubbers rings worn, one on his each wrists. His smile unveiled those brownish doma-stained teeth. He had varicose as his leg revealed those tortuous veins almost ready to explode and spill out those venous blood.  It seemed he doesn’t rest after long tedious hours. When kids were having fun shouting and teasing each other, he warns them and they climb up through the ladder to the upper storey. He was strict with his nephews and nieces. 

He enquires the patient what sickness had befallen on him. The patients slowly explained his chronic stomach pain which tortured him for years. He showed his belly and pin pointed how the pain radiates. The patient tells the healer that even the medicines from the hospital wasn’t effective to relive him from the pain. “I have heard stories of how you treat and heal patients; please do a check up as you please”. The man listens carefully to his patient’s every word. Meanwhile I stayed quiet and observed every conversation between them. The man sat beside him and held his arms for few seconds; I knew he was kind of checking his pulse. The vitals come first in medical set up and I assumed that he was doing almost the exact same thing as health professionals. But I doubted his accuracy of checking vitals.

He gently places his fingers over the stomach and palpates all the way through abdomen. Then he explains that it is probably due to poisoning just as the patient had believed. He explains that due to poisoning the blood flow is restricted towards all the parts of the body and that the stomach pain radiates towards abdomen and gives a feeling as if stomach is lifted. And that the patient will not have a good satiety even if he has his fill. He convinces the patient that due to poison, the blood is impure and circulates all over the body, with his medicine the patient will frequently experience numerous times of loose stool such that the impure blood would be washed along with the poison. He compared his medicines to be like ante venom or an antidote. The healer explains that the poison clots the blood and obstructs the smooth flow of blood.  It was comparable to the thrombus hindering the blood flow through the arteries and blood vessels in patho physiological context. I related his explanations to be like lecture during the pathology session attended during the college days. His medicines were probably going to act like the laxatives relieving constipation. 

It was now time for him to dispense his powdered medicines after explaining the patho physiology, referred pain and the mechanism of actions of his medications. He takes out two small containers filled with his medicine. He takes out a dispensing plastic and fills it, he explains that it will cause loose motion and clear out the poisons absorbed by the body. Next he wraps small pinch of powder in a paper and advises the patient to take that much amount thrice a day for a month. He calls them Chirika(Dhugmen) and Drakponagtsho. In our context it would be like administering the correct dosage for a correct duration. The healer carefully hands over the medicine to the anticipating patient. Again for the next medicine he does the same procedure and this time he explains that it will act like an anti-ulcer medicine which will relive his stomach ache. Since the patient had mentioned that he is hypertensive, he advised to have the medicine an hour before he takes antihypertensive medications. The healer advises to avoid radish, dry fish and citrus fruits which may probably contraindicate with his medications and aggravate the pain. The patient was eager to take the medications and thanked the healer. The healer denied thousand bucks that the patient handed him, but on repeatedly insisting he just accepted only 500 bucks.

From the basic examinations of vitals, going through patho physiology of disease, blood circulatory system, poisoning and clotting of blood, and referred pain, mechanism of action of the medicine and at the end the dispensing and advices, the local healer amazed me not because he was convincing, but due to the way I perceived his actions and speeches in the medical context. I was also in a dilemma to believe in his cure or just take it as a mere person trying to act as a magical healer. But all in all, I could never be persuaded and fall into trap as every other layman. The encounter with the magical healer was quite a thrilling experience yet I urge all to think of medical advances where the scientific researches take years of animal and human trials to find a cure for a disease. And how could a mere person without a medical knowledge and competency treat a patient with some random collection of herbal medicines? This should ring loud and clear in your head whenever you hear stories or even happen to visit a local healer. Maybe the faith of some society for the local healer can’t be waivered but individual opinions and decision making plays a pivotal role. “Think before you act”, this cliché should click and it will always come in handy to save yourself from the myth of the local healer.