Physicians and Hakims-for herbal medicines

The person who has knowledge and wisdom (hikmah) is called hakim; this is with reference to those persons who researched and found out harmfulness and cures with treatment through herbs, vegetables and fruit, and honey-like things. They treated and are still treating illness and families are used to it at local levels. Hakim can feel pulse pressure, throbbing for diagnostics and give some mixture of ground herbs with syrups. Hakims/psychologists of the past wrote books on their medicinal research, treatment of illnesses. Those/These books are added to the courses in College.

It's my own experience. My family members took boiled eggs with tea at night in winter. Early morning my 10 years old daughter complained of stomach-ache early next morning. I took her to a hakim that put his fingers on pulse and quickly asked my daughter "did you take boiled egg"?; she said "yes". Hakim gave her two pills made of herbs; one to chew then and there and other for a later use if needed. She felt relieved of the discomfort.

As in other countries, these hakims worked in Asia, China, India, and Pakistan. Some went ahead and set up medicine manufacturing plant producing numerous medicines; Hakim Saeed opened up Hamdard Dawakhana, Hakim Qarshi's plant manufactures Jauhar Joshanda with herbs, and many more healing medicines. Amrit Dhara is one of the best medicines produced. There are known hakims that have also produced medicines.

Hakim would diagnose health problem by looking through urine, by looking into eyes, throat and face. There was a saying: Person is in good health if feet are warm, tummy soft and head cool/good temperature”.

When medical education started in India, boys and girls graduated and started practicing and introduced allopathic treatment and spread word that people don't know the composition, ingredients of hakim's medicine and pushed this allopathic. Then specialization was introduced in each individual part of body; these doctors are called "specialists". They treatment is based on the results of labs tests, x-rays and MRI results.

It has happened with me. Doctor referred me to specialist - for blood sugar. This specialist asked me not to trim nails myself and should come to his clinic each month or when needed. He noticed the bone on both feet near thumb. My answer was that that I had a wide toe (group bones behind the fingers is wider than the fingers themselves) and it was so from the childhood. But he took it as not a good sign – for diabetic? Perhaps there were no wide-toe shoes at that time and the narrow toe shoes always squeezed my foot. I have always tried to find wide-toe shoes. Doctor did not agree with me and told me that would order special orthopedic shoe to fit my shoe-shape. I believe in his sincerity he thought the sugar problem might be behind it. Sugar-wise I am fine, it fluctuates with my food intake and I am trying to be careful.

My doctor referred me to a heart specialist. His assistant questioned me and wrote down my answers. The doctor came and made more questions. He sent me to another place for stress test and another test with dye. After couple of days results were received by him and told me that he has concluded from the test results, I have to go in for angiography and he would insert stents. Finally, I was told to think over; It is elective and whenever I want, I should contact him.

Once my wife was loosing appetite and going weaker and weaker. One evening I took her to a doctor that gave her an injection and asked to report him next day for further treatment. In few hours she felt some itching under the tongue and feet. I took her back to the same doctor that had closed by that time. Then we went to different pharmacies opened later hours. No body gave treatment because of “unknown” injection. On a suggestion, we went to an ALL NIGHT EMERGENCY clinic. Doctor gave her two tablets; one to take immediately and kept us waiting there for two hours. She felt much better. Doctor asked to take the other tablet if needed. She was fine.

The kidney specialists for my wife asked to take meat (she showed amount of meat to be taken with her “fist”) because dialysis take away protein and meat would produce protein to keep balance. But the cardiologist did not allow this because that would produce cholesterol and narrow the arteries. These doctors go by lab results and keep readjusting medicines. Of course doctors and specialists understand the problem and its treatment. It is our own making; if this or that was done, patient could have recovered health. Our own conclusions and doctor’s treatment go side by side to the last breath of patient which cannot be advanced or delayed.

I read a book on homeopathy; the doctors were suggested treatment from such symptoms: if patient enters your clinic "smiling/laughing" give this medicine,-etc.

WHAT I SHOULD NAME THEM: We have some doctor relatives. A doctor - specialist in blood sugar, was invited for a cup of tea. He told my wife, he felt she was diabetic and asked to get her blood sugar checked up. The result was positive.
Likewise, once a doctor came to our house and told me, he noticed I had hernia. I made an appointment at hospital. The doctor confirmed, I had rather "double-hernia. He operated upon.

my email: sheikhmsarwar@gmail.com