Traditional Thai Medicine
According to ancient records, traditional Thai medicine developed from the diagnostic and therapeutic concepts of traditional Chinese medicine and Indian Ayurveda around 5,000 years ago . Until the last century it was the only way to cure diseases in Thailand . It was offered by monks but also by academic healers and is mainly based on the use of medicinal plants .
Plants have a spiritual meaning for the Thai people. There are places in every Thai house where plants should grow. Trees, which are said to have energetic forces, must be on the front or back of the house.
While the colonial powers of France (Indochina) and England (India) brought the Far Eastern healing knowledge from these countries to the West early on, this did not happen in Thailand. It was only since the Vietnam War that Western researchers had the opportunity to look at Thai folk medicines. According to the pharmacopoeia, there are just over 15,000 plant species in Thailand, compared to only around 3,000 in all of Europe. This explains a long tradition of phytotherapy .
The dried fruit peels of Garcinia atroviridis ( Thai : som khaek - ส้ม แขก ) are the best-selling medicinal herb in Southeast Asia for the treatment of obesity and high blood lipid levels. Thunbergia laurifolia (Thai: rang tschut ) is said to have liver detoxifying and antiallergic effects. Andrographis paniculata (Thai: fa thalai chon - ฟ้า ทะลาย โจร ) is a remedy for flu-like infections. Zingiberacea family are considered effective against cancer because of their rhizomes . An herb called Murdannia loriformis (Thai: ja pak-king - หญ้า ปักกิ่ง ) is also said to help against various types of cancer. Orthosiphon aristatus ("Indian kidney tea") is used as a diuretic . Aloe vera (Thai: ว่า น หางจระเข้ ), a Southeast Asian medicinal plant, comes from Thailand and has been used there in various forms for around 6,000 years. The situation is similar with Morinda citrifolia (Thai: jo-pa - ย อ ป่า ), the Indian mulberry, which is now marketed in the West under the name Noni . Two plants that grow exclusively in Thailand are Pueraria mirifica (Thai: kwao khruea khao - กวาวเครือ ขาว , against menopausal symptoms) and Butea superba (Thai: kwao khruea daeng or kwao khruea dam - กวาวเครือ แดง or กวาวเครือ ดำ , also called “Thai Viagra "called sexual enhancer).
In the last decade there has been a “return” to Thai folk medicine on a large scale. A university primary health care system was set up with government support to bring herbal remedies closer to the population, which are supposed to cope with the increasing diseases of civilization . This initiative was financially supported by the royal family. Another new feature is a Home Garden Program , which calls on Thais to plant medicinal herbs in home gardens, but also on balconies and verandas, in order to save costs in the healthcare sector.
The 30 baht law , introduced in 2002 under the government of Thaksin Shinawatra , stipulates that any citizen, regardless of income, can receive medical services in state hospitals with a deductible of 30 baht , regardless of whether it is outpatient or inpatient treatment acts, regardless of the duration. Cosmetic surgery and dental treatments are excluded. 30 baht is currently around 0.65 euros. The median income in Thailand is 11,000 baht per month. The statutory health insurance contribution is 3 percent of monthly earnings.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nephyr Jacobsen, C. Pierce Salguero: Thai Nature Medicine (2018), Tipani-Verlag Wiesbaden, ISBN 9783981547122
Web links
- Bangkok Post article on Murdannia loriformis (in English)
- Traditional applications of kwao Khruea khao (in English)