Traditional medicines promoted to assist COVID-19 treatment

The Ministry of Health recently promulgated interim guidelines for the use of traditional medicines in prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

Traditional medicine products offered to COVID-19-hit areas in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces to assist COVID-19 treatment.
Traditional medicine products offered to COVID-19-hit areas in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces to assist COVID-19 treatment.

From medical examination and treatment of COVID-19 and reference to recommendations of leading experts in traditional medicine and international documents, the Ministry has introduced traditional remedies for COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms.

This is the second time the Ministry has issued a document on using traditional medicine to assist in COVID-19 treatment. Previously, in March 2020, when the pandemic just broke out in our country, the Ministry issued document No. 1306/BYT-YDCT instructing healthcare facilities to strengthen COVID-29 prevention and control through the use of traditional Vietnamese medicine.

Facts have shown that herbal medicine and exercises can improve patient’s resistance and were used to support the treatment of COVID-19 when major outbreaks occurred in Bac Giang Province, Ho Chi Minh City and other localities.

According to the Traditional Medicines Administration under the Ministry of Health, people can also apply preventive measures such as breathing exercises, diffusing rooms with essential oils, gargling, nasal washing with a solution from medicinal herbs, and cooking with medicinal herb ingredients, which can help to improve physical health of patients in the post-COVID-19 treatment period.

These are scientific methods that have been appraised by a professional council of leading experts in traditional medicine before being submitted to Ministry of Health for approval. People can follow these instructions rather than unproven COVID-19 treatment therapies which are widely shared on the internet.

Many experts stated that there are certain difficulties to apply traditional medicine in the prevention and control of COVID-19. In order to effectively use and promote traditional medicines and methods, it is necessary to have a team of experts to support and advise doctors during the treatment process. It is also important to encourage hospitals and medical facilities with traditional medicines to apply remedies for patients in the recovery period for COVID-19.

In addition, the State should encourage further research on proper medicinal materials and remedies and evaluate their effects in COVID-19 treatment.

Such research on promoting the potentials of traditional medicine and pharmacy should receive funding from the State budget in order to gradually affirm the efficiency of traditional medicine in medical examination and treatment, especially for emerging diseases.