Physicians urged to be open to all forms of care amid rising demand for traditional medicines

CHENNAI: HEALTHCARE is diverse, wherein allopathy (treatment using remedies such as drugs or surgery) is just a small constituent. Both traditional and conventional (allopathy) have to co-exist, said Anil Vaidya, senior consultant, Apollo Hospitals, on Saturday. Inaugurating the fourth edition of Arogyam, a two-day health and fitness exhibition at Chennai Trade Centre at Nandambakkam, he said while traditional medicines, including Ayurveda, had established itself in the preventive healthcare segment, allopathy was effective when it came to life-threatening and chronic conditions.

“Physicians must be open to the existence of all forms of healthcare,” said Vaidya, a noted pancreas transplant surgeon. Besides, Vaidya, M Rajkumar, Chairman of Raj Cosmetic and Plastic surgery centre, S N Shivarishi, Founder, Sathyananda Yoga Centre, S Chandralekha, Director of Iswariya Women’s hospital and fertility centre and M G L Velayutham, Chairman of Almaa Herbals graced the inauguration ceremony.

As many as 65 stalls have been set up as part of the exhibition, organised by The New Indian Express in association with Apollo Health Chek. On offer for visitors are free health check up and access to consultation of many leading healthcare providers. The exhibition will be open on Sunday, with traditional and organically grown foodgrains and vegetables on sale. Almaa Herbals has put on display around 100 varieties of medicinal herbs.

T V Rangarajan, a visitor and native of Coimbatore, said Siddha medicine can be effective, adding that it can be a slow process, but there is no side effect. M Rajkumar said the exhibition was an opportunity for people to be exposed to all fields of healthcare. “Furthermore, it enables an interactive session with public who may have doubts about apprehensions over the procedures,” he said.

Rajkumar also dispelled the notion that it was the upper class section of society which prefers cosmetic surgery, as the procedure will benefit middle and lower class too by improving their confidence and self- perception. Stating that yoga must be made available for every child, Shivarishi said, “It is the responsibility of instructors to make Yoga interesting for children so that they are able to relate with it.”