NST Online
2008/08/17
By : Sim Bak Heng
JOHOR BARU: Try coconut water, water chestnut or Chinese herbal medicine.
This is the advice of Chinese physicians in the wake of the chikungunya outbreaks in Johor, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Malacca.
There is no vaccine against the virus, which is spread by the Aedes mosquito.
The symptoms of the disease are the same as dengue: fever, joint pain, fatigue and mouth ulcers.
Traditional remedies provide no instant cure, but they suppress the virus, offer patients relief and boost the immune system.
Chinese physician Tan Kee Huat said as the disease develops in three phases, there were three herbal prescriptions for it.
He said the first prescription was to eliminate the fever and joint pain while the second was to remove the rashes and inflammation.
Tan said many types of herbs were used in each of the prescriptions.
"After the first two phases, the symptoms of most patients will be largely reduced. The third prescription is to get rid of the remaining symptoms.
"Only consult a registered Chinese physician for prescriptions. Different physicians will administer different herbal remedies but the effect is about the same."
Tan said for cooling effect, patients could boil water chestnut and drink the water.
Some prefer to handle the disease the traditional way although there is no scientific basis for this.
For instance, coconut water, generally considered a coolant, is widely used to treat the disease.
In Jementah, Segamat, coconuts are selling like hot cakes.
Sin Chew Daily reported that there were more than 1,000 chikungunya cases in Jementah, which is one of the worst-hit areas in Johor.
Sundry shop owner Yu Boon Kheng said he had been selling more than 200 young coconuts daily since the outbreak of the disease a month ago.
"Some of my customers say they drink the water as an alternative cure for the disease while others drink it for prevention.
"They say coconut water helps to bring down the fever and give them relief," he said.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai had said that more than 600 people were down with the disease, but believed the figure could be higher as many did not seek treatment at government hospitals.
Prevention is dependent on taking steps to avoid mosquito bites and elimination of the vector's breeding grounds.
2008/08/17
By : Sim Bak Heng
JOHOR BARU: Try coconut water, water chestnut or Chinese herbal medicine.
This is the advice of Chinese physicians in the wake of the chikungunya outbreaks in Johor, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Malacca.
There is no vaccine against the virus, which is spread by the Aedes mosquito.
The symptoms of the disease are the same as dengue: fever, joint pain, fatigue and mouth ulcers.
Traditional remedies provide no instant cure, but they suppress the virus, offer patients relief and boost the immune system.
Chinese physician Tan Kee Huat said as the disease develops in three phases, there were three herbal prescriptions for it.
He said the first prescription was to eliminate the fever and joint pain while the second was to remove the rashes and inflammation.
Tan said many types of herbs were used in each of the prescriptions.
"After the first two phases, the symptoms of most patients will be largely reduced. The third prescription is to get rid of the remaining symptoms.
"Only consult a registered Chinese physician for prescriptions. Different physicians will administer different herbal remedies but the effect is about the same."
Tan said for cooling effect, patients could boil water chestnut and drink the water.
Some prefer to handle the disease the traditional way although there is no scientific basis for this.
For instance, coconut water, generally considered a coolant, is widely used to treat the disease.
In Jementah, Segamat, coconuts are selling like hot cakes.
Sin Chew Daily reported that there were more than 1,000 chikungunya cases in Jementah, which is one of the worst-hit areas in Johor.
Sundry shop owner Yu Boon Kheng said he had been selling more than 200 young coconuts daily since the outbreak of the disease a month ago.
"Some of my customers say they drink the water as an alternative cure for the disease while others drink it for prevention.
"They say coconut water helps to bring down the fever and give them relief," he said.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai had said that more than 600 people were down with the disease, but believed the figure could be higher as many did not seek treatment at government hospitals.
Prevention is dependent on taking steps to avoid mosquito bites and elimination of the vector's breeding grounds.
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