DAAN Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

The Swiss, following a common trend in Western societies, are looking to Chinese herbs and traditional medicine for treatment options for a variety of conditions:

“People in Switzerland are increasingly turning to Chinese medicine to cure ailments such as back pain, asthma, allergies and stress problems.

But practitioners say there is still a long way to go before the profession is fully recognised and are calling for it to be covered by the basic health insurance.

Alternative therapies are on the rise. It has been estimated that around a third of the population has tried complementary medicine at least once in their lives.

Acupuncture by a registered doctor is covered by the health insurance and around 70 per cent of people have extra health coverage for other alternative therapies, according to the Federal Health Office.

Making inroads is the ancient art of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which is carried out by both qualified doctors and non:medical practitioners.

“Chinese medicine is a medical system that’s not based on the western idea of the body but the Chinese philosophy of the body. It explains diseases and health in a different way,” said Simon Becker, president of the Swiss Professional Organization for Traditional Chinese Medicine (sbo:tcm) : the largest association of non:medical TCM therapists.

“Chinese medicine tries to influence with different modalities, such as acupuncture and herbs, the harmonies that take place in the body when you get sick.”

In 1999 it was provisionally included, along with four other alternative therapies, into basic health insurance.

But in 2005, after carrying out an assessment, the government decided to strike these out, saying they were too costly.

Becker’s 1,200 member association has joined with other groups, including medical ones, to lobby for the therapies to be reinstated by putting the matter to a nationwide vote. But the move has been rejected by the government.

Polls have, however, indicated widespread public support for the initiative.”

Tags: East and West //