Western vs. Eastern Medicine

People here don't know much about modern medicine, and don’t have access to adequate medical care. Today I witnessed a very disturbing scene: a girl age 13 got in a fight at school and was kneed in the chest. Dessy and I stopped by the house where she lived about one hour after the accident. She was on the floor of the common room surrounded by family and villagers. Someone had smeared red color on her bare chest and forehead. She was supported by her mother and sisters, who were massaging her hands and feet. She was breathing quickly in small gasps and every five minutes or so she would go stiff, arch her back, and scream, apparently in lots of pain. The nearest medical facility is about one day travel from Pankalan Jihing, and the nearest medical officer (not a doctor) about 2 hours away. Luckily the girl recovered, but more serious health emergencies usually end in death due to the lack of immediately available medical care.

Western medical knowledge, even among my friends from the city, is limited. My coworkers believe, for example, that tuberculosis is a genetic disease because if a mother has the disease the children may also have tb. They also don’t know what antibiotics are for (what? You can’t treat a virus with antibiotics?), and think that rashes are a result of being cold. All of this is very disturbing to me, and I hope I can send the SIMPUR staff to first-aid school upon return to Pontianak.

On the other hand, traditional knowledge about medicinal properties of local plants and animals is incredible. Almost every day, a village guide will point out a new plant that has some medicinal property - prevents headache, calms rashes, helps treat malaria symptoms, is a sleeping aid, etc. On the boat on the way from Mensubang to Ketapang a few weeks ago, a man gave me bees' nests, which when ground up and taken with water are supposed to help treat cancer. I'm sure the effectiveness of these treatments varies, but I'm also sure some of the treatments are effective and also perhaps unknown to the western pharmaceutical industry.