Licensed Doctors Or Quack Doctors, Which Do You Prefer?

[Dave Hounddriver]

I am slowly coming around to understanding why so called Quack Doctors have a place in the Philippines. This country has such a wealth of flora which have medicinal properties as yet undiscovered by the western world. Slowly the Licensed Doctors are discovering them and I now understand why a doctor is prescribing me very expensive medicine with a sign on the box "No Therapeutic Claim". They are prescribing the same herbs as the Quacks but charging a fortune for it.

I think the Quacks need to be renamed Herbalists and learn their limitations For example, they may be great at treating a bacterial infection with herbs but when you need an appendectomy you should be seeing your licensed doctor.

Here is my "herb for the day" if you want to know more about what the Quack Doctors prescribe:

Malunggay

What is moringa?

Moringa, also known as the Miracle Tree, is a multipurpose plant, as the leaves, pods, fruits, flowers, roots and bark of the tree can be utilized. It is also referred to as Drumstick Tree by the Britishers. In the Philippines, they are referred to as malunggay or malungay. Others refer to moringa as horseradish tree, benzolive tree, kelor, marango, mlonge, moonga, nébéday, saijhan, sajna or Ben oil tree.

What are the health benefits of moringa?

Scientific research confirms that these humble leaves are a powerhouse of nutritional value. Gram for gram, moringa leaves contain: SEVEN times the vitamin C in oranges, FOUR times the Calcium in milk, FOUR times the vitamin A in carrots, TWO times the protein in milk and THREE times the Potassium in bananas.

(more at link)

[OnMyWay]

How does one find a quack doctor?

[Dave Hounddriver]

How does one find a quack doctor?

This 'One' just lets his wife find one and bring her to the house.

[MikeeW]

Since you asked, I would offer this warning. Many of the so-called quack doctors are simply out to use the superstitions of locals to make a living. I can recite dozens of stories of the way these "doctors" have done much more harm than good. Some stories are amusing, most are pathetic.

A neighbor girl suffers from epileptic seizures. The family can't afford the medicine for her care. So, a local "doctor" advised there were spirits which had been offended and needed to be driven away. So, the family hired a couple of unemployed high school kids to bang a drum and such all night. Didn't help.

An elderly aunt of ours refused to take medicine which was prescribed to help with a case of shingles. It was expensive. A local "doctor" advised that her husband had removed some stones from the river and this disturbed some sort of balance and the stones needed to go back. Didn't help.

A nephew of mine had a bad cough. Went to a "doctor" in the close by market. He did some massage and it worked. Of course, kids his age with the same symptoms were "cured" in just about the same time period. Could it be a coincidence that colds were common for a period in the community?

A priest in a nearby parish sells herbals as a "sideline" to his income from the church. I guess lighting candles and prayer wasn't enough.

I know for sure that there are many home remedies which work quite well and have for many generations, not just here but all around the world. The problem here is that it seems to be the last ditch effort to have a cure at low cost.

When i first moved here, my brother in law, in his 20s, was critically ill with kidney failure. I would drive him to a nearby chapel several times a week while a "sister" of some parish would offer her blessings and sometimes a cure would occur. It didn't for him. He died due to poverty.

He had a simple bladder infection, which worsened. Instead of getting capable treatment, he was sent from place to place with no real diagnosis made until the infection had already destroyed his kidney functions. In one instance he took a six hour bus ride to a so called capable facility, but when asked if he had fasted for the necessary blood test, he was sent away. Never mind that there were many tests which could have still been done, or that waiting just a while longer after the bus ride would have qualified for the fasting period. It was some bonehead nurse who simply knew the rules and sent him away. "Go home and die. I still get paid and will enjoy disco this weekend."

Having said all this, I could pass along the tale I had recently of several doctors taking what they could from the golden goose as they did their medical services. I have never seen such a greedy crowd of professionals, ever, in all my travels. It is a shameful state.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Here is a guessing game. Tell me whether this was said by a Quack doctor or a licensed medical doctor: Read the spoiler to know.

Your skin infection can be cured by using mouthwash.

A licensed medical doctor who specializes in diseases of the skin told me that my skin infections were coming from tooth decay which can be killed be gargling Betadyne. A dentist examined me and said that is not the case.

Your skin infection can be cured by scraping all the bacteria off the bone.

The dentist mentioned above took an Xray and decided my jaw bone was being eaten by bacteria and he sent me to a ENT specialist to have my jawbone scraped of infection. The specialist shook his head and said no.

To control your skin infection, you need to be sure you do not shower with water.

The ENT specialist mentioned above said there was no infection on my jaw bone and the dentist was reading the Xray wrong. He said the infection was probably coming from the municipal water supply but I was the only one not immune to the bacteria so if I washed my skin with that water I would be spreading the bacteria. Maybe. I have heard worse theories.

To control infection you need only eat the seeds of the Malunggay plant once a day.

OK, I lied, this was not told to me by either a Quack or a Legal. It was told to me by a fellow foreigner who got it from a Quack and has been using the remedy for many things, successfully. So far it is working for me too. It is definitely not any worse than any of the Legal Doctor remedies. The best advice I got from a Medical Doctor was to keep trying things until something worked.

To control the infection you need to take a sample of the bacteria and send it for analysis so that it can be examined and a treatment recommended.

BINGO. That was a medical doctor from an on line forum. Now just try and find a doctor in the Philippines who will do that. I have tried dozens of them and for some reason, known only to them, they will not take that step.

BTW, I have been to many more doctors etc than shown above but by now you get the picture and most of them had interesting things to try, they just did not work.

Edited December 14, 2012 by Dave Hounddriver

[Curley]

To control the infection you need to take a sample of the bacteria and send it for analysis so that it can be examined and a treatment recommended.

Have you tried going directly to an analyst?

[Dave Hounddriver]

Have you tried going directly to an analyst?

I'm just a poor schmuck who cannot even find the right doctor to go to. Who and what is an analyst and where do I find one. Google refers me to a movie. Looks pretty good thought. This one

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398687/

[Curley]

Have you tried going directly to an analyst?

I'm just a poor schmuck who cannot even find the right doctor to go to. Who and what is an analyst and where do I find one. Google refers me to a movie. Looks pretty good thought. This one

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398687/

I would search for something like bacterial analyst philippines or go to my local pharmacy and ask them. I know a girl who works in a pharmacy in Cebu I can ask her if you wish

local hospital?

medical university?

Edited December 14, 2012 by Curley

[Dave Hounddriver]

know a girl who works in a pharmacy in Cebu I can ask her if you wish

That may work. When I try asking doctors they are very evasive with their answers. Usually it comes out like: A good idea but lets try THIS first (insert various 'this's) until I forget what I came there for.

[Curley]

know a girl who works in a pharmacy in Cebu I can ask her if you wish

That may work. When I try asking doctors they are very evasive with their answers. Usually it comes out like: A good idea but lets try THIS first (insert various 'this's) until I forget what I came there for.

Is that a yes? PM me if you want to keep details confidential.

Generally a fully qualified pharmacist has better, more up to date knowledge than many doctors.

I