note from the editor Group director sales and marketing / director Vietnam: Jonny Edbrooke jonny@asialifemagazine.com Managing editor: Chris Mueller chris@asialifemagazine.com Deputy editor: Lien Hoang lien@asialifemagazine.com Contributing editor: Michael Tatarski michael@asialifemagazine.com Editorial intern: Ruben Luong
Chris Mueller The only time I've used any form of alternative medicine was in grade school. As the ever-studious pupil, I was falling asleep in math class when I panicked and whipped my head up in an attempt to act natural. But all hope of going unnoticed was lost when I pinched a nerve and began screaming in agony. I spent the rest of that embarrassing day in school walking around in pain with my head tilted at a 90-degree angle. Later that afternoon, I visited a chiropractor. As I lay face down on his table, he twisted, cracked and popped my neck until the pain went away. That was the last time I would ever encounter alternative medicine — that is until I got fed up with doctors in Saigon. Over the past four years here, I have developed a pretty severe case of hypochondria. Every little health problem turns into a serious concern — a sore back means I have cancer, while a slight fever means I definitely have malaria. For someone with my ‘condition’, life as an uninsured expat in Vietnam can be stressful, not to mention expensive. It’s no wonder so many locals turn to traditional or alternative medicine when the only options are pricey conventional doctors or quacks who prescribe huge bags filled with assorted antibiotics and random pills. So it was on another one of these panicky nights that I diagnosed myself with a torn rotator cuff and started looking into treatments available in Saigon. I knew Chinese acupuncture was popular here, but what I didn’t know was that there is a pretty big range of alternative treatments available in Vietnam; everything from osteopathy to more holistic approaches for the spiritually inclined. What I also found was that the world medical community is hugely divided about the practical uses of these treatments. Studies have been published supporting and attacking both sides, claiming one is quackery while the other is only a profit-driven business. With this month’s cover story, we take a look at some of those issues as well as speak to some alternative practitioners in Saigon to find out exactly what is available here. Unfortunately for people like me, both conventional and alternative medicine have their problems and merits. This means us hypochondriacs in Saigon will have an even harder time deciding what to do when we’re pretty sure we have cancer — for the 12th time.
6 asialife HCMC
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