Ancient medicines, new patients In with the old as traditional cures return

Al Ain Little three-year-old Anoud hadn’t slept peacefully through a night in three months.

Every time she went to bed, it was the same: coughing spells again and again — often to the point where she couldn’t breathe properly.

And for three months, little Anoud bounced between hospitals across the UAE as her distraught parents tried to find a cure for her defective diaphragm.

“In the hospital they gave me cortisone to help her breath and this is too strong for babies,” Umm Al Anoud told Gulf News last week. “It helped, but for only a short time and it was temporary. It didn’t solve the problem.”

In desperation, Al Anoud turned to traditional medicine. And within ten days, a mix of natural herbs worked wonders, healing the little girl’s coughing in 10 days.

“The first night she took the traditional medicine was the first night she slept well in three months,” Al Anoud recalls. “It took three months and the doctors couldn’t find a solution. With the traditional medicine she was obviously healing.”

According to World Health Organisation, there is a high consumer demand for traditional medicines and herbal preparations and products in the UAE.

Now Al Anoud frequently shops at Al Khaja Store here, where traditional and herbal medicines are sold.

The remedies available at Al Khaja range from mixtures that tackle diabetes to “the envy incense”.

At Al Khaja, a family-run business that has been around since 1969, the most popular medicine is for diabetes, which contains the flower Achillea millefolium as its main product.

“People with diabetes, for example, take a shot and see results immediately, but this process never ends and they will continue to take different drugs throughout their life.” Nader Al Khaja, the store’s sales manager, said. “With time, these herbals remedies are more effective and have a lasting long-term effect.”

But patients must be willing to adopt perseverance.

“People must be patient and use the medicines regularly,” he cautioned. “They shouldn’t compare these medicines to chemicals.”

Al Khaja is the eldest son of the store’s founders and two other brothers work alongside him, dispensing mixes of herbs and bottles of liquids which have been relied upon for generations as cures. He considers himself a professional in this traditional field of medicine.

“Honey, black seed, green tea, zaater, thyme, ginger, fresh garlic and water grass, are basic substances every person should have in their home for good health,” Al Khaja said, listing off some of the herbs which line his store’s shelves.

“Every person is a doctor for themselves. They need to try and understand their body.

The shop isn’t only restricted to medicines for physical sickness — Al Khaja can rustle up something for those who feel stressed or anxious.

Like many traditional medicine shops in the UAE, these medical remedies have been passed down from generation to generation in families. The internet is not used for their medical research because, according to Al Khaja, it’s too accessible. “People can write as they please,” he said his traditional cures are proved and have stood the test of time.

Some of the store’s curing compounds come from Sunnahs, others are passed on from their experience in traditional medicine field, and others still concocted based on the patient’s personal experiences and reaction to other medicines or compounds.

Diaries are kept and updated to use remedies for customers facing issues that have been previously tackled. Nearly all herbal mixes sold at Al Khaja are made in the store.

ASl Khaja maintains a collection of books from Iran, India and the Middle East that focus on traditional recipes and blends of herbs, along with their functions and interactions.

Herbs in the shop are both local and imported from Iran, India, Pakistan and Morocco.

Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (FCA) checks on the store, as it does with all traditional medicine outlets in the emirate. It ensures no dangerous or illegal substances are sold and inspects for cleanliness and expiration dates on the herbs.

Al Khaja said that most herbs don’t have an expiration date, but he usually puts an expiration date for a year from packaging for the FCA inspections.

He said he would like to publish a book of herbal remedies, but there is a lot of attacking in this field and it would not be allowed because it is still something considered “traditional.”

“We have no organisation to review a medical book for us,” Al Khaja said as he flipped through a traditional book published in Saudi Arabia. “There is no department to follow up on us or our needs, no organisation to represent us and we can’t get a special license.”

In 2005, WHO surveyed the UAE and 15 other countries in the region on the development of national policy and the regulation of traditional medicine and herbal medicines in the region. Approximately 75 per cent of these countries responded positively to the development of law or regulation on herbal medicines, and 50 per cent responded positively to developing national research institutes for traditional medicines or herbal medicines.

The lack of regulators for this field often causes scams and fake products, Al Khaja said.

“One Pakistani man was asking Dh100,000 from a man to help make him fertile.” he said.

The Health Authority of Abu Dhabi has taken action to stamp out dangerous fakes by annually distributing a packet of banned medicines to specialist shops.

“Some shops will add chemicals to herbal mixtures,” he said.

Meanwhile, WHO officials have warned that consumers should be cautious of counterfeit, poor quality, or altered herbal products in international markets that can be serious threats to a patient’s safety.

The Al Khaja store ships its products to other shops in Dubai and customers outside Al Ain that make special requests. Al Khaja said there are not any plans to branch out their family business because they prefer to make their medicines in the store.

“We haven’t found trusted people that could take on this responsibility, to explain to people how to use the herbals and what herbals to use.” Al Khaja added.

Published On: https://gulfnews.com/uae/ancient-medicines-new-patients-1.1033138