The Ins and Outs of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine

Introduction
The Vietnamese population within us consists of mostly immigrants who arrived as refugees after 1975. The 2010 U.S. census listed the Vietnamese population at 1.5 million.1 Little is understood about their use of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine (TVM) or whether or not they adopted foreign complementary and medicine (CAM), whether or not they discussed this use with their biomedical providers, and therefore the factors related to this use. Vietnam physic is one of the effective and trustable medicines for several.

TVM, or Thuốc Cổ Truyền in Vietnamese, features a long history in Vietnam. It includes many indigenous folk therapies and herbal medicines and practices that were influenced by contacts with other cultures, like Chinese and, more recently, European and American cultures.2–5

Many of the indigenous TVM practices are supported the assumption that illnesses are caused by “toxic wind” (Gió Độc) that enters the body from outside. Also, Vietnamese (and Cambodian) refugees with post-traumatic stress syndrome frequently interpreted somatic-type anxiety as disorders of “wind”6,7. In fact, “wind syndromes” are now included within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, as a key culture-bound concept of distress.8 At the onset of an acute condition, like pain and/or fainting (often called Trúng Gió [“hit by the wind”]), Vietnamese frequently use counterirritant techniques, like Dật Gió (“wind snatching” that uses fingers to pinch and snap far away from the skin), Cạo Gió (“wind scraping,” also referred to as Gua Sha in TCM, which involves the utilization of a coin to scrape the skin), Giác Hơi (cupping), Bấm Huyệt (finger pressure), and Cắt Lể (bloodletting) to expunge the “toxic wind.”5,9–11 These procedures are usually done by a loved one.

For more severe, chronic conditions, the patients are often treated with home-prepared herbal TVM teas/soups prescribed by TVM doctors. For more common problems, patients purchase ready-made manufactured products (in the shape of pills, powders, or extracts). to take care of health, Vietnamese also consume raw, dried, and fresh herbs thought to possess health protection quality, also as health tonic products that are mostly herbals, manufactured and packaged, and are claimed to enhance general health. within us, nearly all of TVM products and foodstuffs are often bought from local grocery stores.

CAM may be a term coined within the West for various therapies (e.g., acupuncture, massage, herbal medicine, and deep breathing) that aren't traditionally taught in allopathic medical schools4,12 and should have origins in several cultures. consistent with the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health Medicine, an entire system of theory and practice, like TVM, that has evolved during a different culture and aside from conventional/Western medicine would fall into the umbrella of CAM within us as a “whole medical system.”12 TVM applies to the indigenous healing tradition of Vietnam but now in its long history also includes practices and theories that are adopted and integrated from systems that are derived from China and other Asian countries (e.g., Japan and India). during this article, such borrowed practices are called Eastern-influenced TVM.

Certain Western CAM practices, like dietary supplements (e.g., minerals, vitamins, fish oils) and chiropractic were introduced into Vietnam within the French colonial period and adopted by the overall public. However, they're never considered parts of TVM but are used, like TVM, as alternatives to allopathic medicine. Furthermore, albeit different sorts of Bấm Huyệt (finger pressure, acupressure), Giác Hơi (cupping), and Cạo Gió (wind scraping, coin rubbing, coining) also are practiced and shared among other ethnic groups in Eastern Asia, they're nevertheless considered by Vietnamese as being indigenous. due to the long history of development and therefore the vagaries and turmoil of Vietnamese history, the delineations between indigenous therapy/herbs and foreign-influenced ones are often blurry, even for TVM experts. The unique histories of families and individuals also make an absolute distinction between TVM, foreign-influenced TVM, and Western CAM related to TVM difficult.

Ahn et al. reported that Vietnamese Americans differed from their Chinese counterparts in healthcare consumption and quality of care assessment.13 This and similar studies often didn't carefully distinguish Chinese and Vietnamese practices of CAM from Asian practices. Also, Ahn and colleagues' study didn't consider the difference between Vietnamese and Chinese in discussing the willingness to deal with CAM use with biomedical providers.13

The relationship between indigenous TVM and foreign-influenced TVM is illustrated in Figure 1. Full descriptions of varied Vietnamese healing techniques are included in the Appendix.

Thuốc Nam or Traditional Vietnamese Medicine has roots dating back thousands of years. It’s a field that’s evolved, aided by the nation’s humid, tropical climate, which provides ideal conditions for the many plants utilized in the discipline to grow. Today, from rural stilted villages to frenzied metropolises, the practice of ingesting these herbal remedies lives on.

History
Although the precise origins of Thuốc Nam aren't entirely clear. Most scholars agree that the sector began to evolve anywhere from 2,200-2,500 years ago during the Hồng Bàng dynasty. Ancient Chinese texts suggest that before their southern conquest within the second century B.C, a system of herbal medicine had been established within the northern regions of Vietnam.

Following the successful invasion and occupation of the Red Delta by the Chinese, Thuốc Nam grew alongside Traditional Chinese Medicine or Thuốc Bắc. In some instances, the Chinese forced their neighbors to pay taxes within the sort of medicinal remedies and medicines. Over the subsequent thousand years, the 2 disciplines remained independent, yet had continued visible influences on each other.

In 938 AD, the Vietnamese claimed victory at the Battle of Bạch Đằng River and over 1,100 years of Chinese rule came crashing to an end. subsequent thousand years became a pivotal period within the development of Thuốc Nam because it brought with it the field’s two most vital and revered physicians — Tue Tinh and Hai Thuong Lan Ong.

Tue Tinh was born within the 14th century, and although he’s about 1500 years late to the party, he's often mentioned because of the founding father of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine. He wrote several highly important texts, including Great Morality within the Art of drugs, and came up with the thought of “the need for Vietnamese to be treated by Vietnamese medicine.”

Hai Thuong Lan Ong came along 300 years later. within the mid-1700s, after studying for dozens of years, he published a 66-volume Encyclopedia of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine that's still mentioned today together of the seminal works on the subject.

Unlike Traditional Chinese Medicine, Thuốc Nam has no complex or time-consuming brewing process. Instead, different combinations of herbs are simply chopped or ground and consumed.

A mixture of rice gruel and onion are prescribed for the cold, while garlic could cure spells of fainting. avoiding malaria is as simple as eating ginger; chewing betel prevents cavity.

The similarities between the fields mostly dwell the underlying beliefs. Each is predicated around the idea of Qi or energy. The concept of Yin and Yang or balance may be a theoretical building block, as are the Five Elements — the assumption that energy flows in our bodies an equivalent way water nourishes wood, wood brings fire, fire forms earth and earth creates metal.

These methods and beliefs are passed down from one generation to subsequent for thousands of years. However, there are signs that since the 19th century, Traditional Vietnamese Medicine has been largely influenced by Western Medicine also.

Modern times
Thuốc Nam remains considerably alive in modern-day Vietnam; although by some accounts, not accessible to the poor because the prices of certain remedies have soared. In many of the country’s sprawling metropolises, traditional medicine is now getting used to supplement Western medicine — X-rays are combined with herb tea.

Numerous herbal remedy stores are often found in Ho Chi Minh City. Traditional medicine is often studied at the HCMC Medical and Pharmaceutical University, while treatment is often received at the government-run Traditional Medicine Institute. A museum highlighting the advantages of the age-old remedies even exists.

It’s clear that within the last 20 years the country has undergone massive changes, but many traditions of the past have endured through it all.