Use of Indian (Ayurveda) style alternative medicine in Thailand.

Abstract

Sir, The alternative medicine is rooted and widely practiced in Asia. In Thailand, a tropical country in Southeast Asia, the use of alternative medicine is common. Here, the author noted on the rate of usage of Indian (Ayurveda) style alternative medicine in Thailand. The assessment of alternative medicine pattern was performed on 1000 patients who visited to a primary care unit in Bangkok. One hundred and twenty patients replied that they used alternative medicine. Focusing on the details, 50 patients used Chinese style alternative medicine, 40 used Thai style alternative medicine, 25 used Western style alternative medicine and 5 used Indian (Ayurveda) style alternative medicine. According to this report, the rate of usage of Indian (Ayurveda) style alternative medicine is 0.5% of all patients and accounted for 4.2% of all kinds of alternative medicine. Of interest, Thailand is a member of Indochina countries where Indian and Chinese cultures meet each other. It is no doubt that several alternative medicine styles can be seen. However, the rate of usage of Indian (Ayurveda) style alternative medicine is lower than the other styles. For sure, this is lower than the reported rate in South Asia.[1,2] The possible reasons might be due to the limited availability of Indian (Ayurveda) style alternative medicine services in Thailand. To increase the use of Indian (Ayurveda) style alternative medicine, there is a need of increase in standard service units. This work is the first report on the prevalence of usage of Indian (Ayurveda) style in Thailand and Southeast Asia.