Chinese traditional medicine is widely practised in Myanmar owing to the large Chinese community. More and more Myanmar people are giving it a go.

IT’S well known that when prepared in the correct manner and at the correct amount plants have proven medical properties that can cure or relieve all sorts of ailments. Although traditional medicine has often had to live with second class status compared to standard medical treatments, in recent years it has become ever more popular.

Chinese traditional medicine in particlar is widely practised owing to the large Chinese population in Myanmar.

Chinese physician Mr Lee Cho Liang 52, from China’s Guangxi province, is looking to expand the practise of traditional medicine within Myanmar. He came to the country with the help of The Chinese Traditional General Medical Association Myanmar.

Having studied Chinese traditional medicine for four years and western medical techniques for three years Mr Lee Cho Liang is an experienced doctor who loves the practise of traditional therapies. He came to Myanmar to spread the use of such therapies.

“I remember that there were some people who didn’t know much about Chinese traditional medicine but they wanted to test it as an alternative health treatment. Most of them are Myanmar people and there were even some Indians.” he said, adding that “After a few months they realised the benefit of taking traditional treatments and so they would come back to me whenever something was wrong with their health.”

One thing that physicians such as Mr Lee Cho Liang have had to deal with is people’s expectations of the therapies. Traditional medicines often take some time to work requiring people to be patient and follow treatment instructions precisely.

While traditional medicine is widely accepted within China, with many traditional remedies having been turned into standard medical treatments that come in the form of pills or injections, it is still gaining acceptance in Myanmar.

Ma May Nge who broke a finger last year used traditional medicine to fix it.

“When my finger was broken in an accident a friend of mine brought me to a Chinese traditional orthopaedist who is very famous for his ability to fix broken bone and joint injuries. When we arrived at his clinic he checked my broken finger without any equipment, just by touching it with his hand for a while. He said that the bone in my finger was fractured before mixing some herbal powder with alcohol and applying it to my finger before bandaging it. I had to pour alcohol over the bandage to stop the medicine from drying. After taking the treatment my finger got better,” she said.

Ma Warzo had never tried traditional Chinese medicine but wanted to give it a try.

“I often suffer joint pain so I have to take pain killers but they are not able to help me recover completely from my pain. My aunty asked me to go and see a Chinese physician as she had been treated by him. I went to see the doctor but I didn’t tell him my problems and just let him test by himself. Amazingly, he could tell all my ailments just by testing the pulse in my wrists. He gave me some herbal powder to take and it’s really helped me”

The exchange of medical knowledge from China to Myanmar is not just one way. The Chinese physicians are also keen to learn what they can from traditional Myanmar medicine.

Mr Zhu Shen Dou, 44, is also a member of The Chinese Traditional General Medical Association Myanmar. He is keen to promote traditional medicine even though the number of people practisising it is declining.

“Every traditional form of medicine has its merits. I want to learn from Myanmar traditional medicine while I give health treatments to people according to our traditional ways,” he said.

I came here because I wanted to promote Chinese traditional medicine among Myanmar people. Local Chinese traditional doctors are too old and there is not much interest from the new generation to carry on the traditional healthcare methods,” he added.

U Maung Phan, an acupuncturist now in his 70s agrees that the knowledge of traditional medicine risks being lost.

“We don’t have young people who want to learn Chinese traditional medical practises such as acupuncture. Young people think traditional doctors can’t make enough money for a good living so they don’t want to learn it.”