The recent appearance of a peculiar notice in several health care institutions set tongues wagging. Noted "stamina man" Dr Trevor Sayers has announced, much to the surprise of the World Health Organisation, that he has the cure for the deadly Ebola virus.
The glorious news, posted at several different locations, prompted a warning from the Minister of Health, Dr Fuad Khan, who suggested that the efficacy of lime, honey, bayleaf, Christmas bush, zebapique, ashes and charcoal would not withstand the scrutiny of scientific analysis. Dr Khan also bristled at Sayer's effrontery in affixing "Dr" to his name.For his part Dr Trevor Sayers offers a more liberal view of the definition of the term "medical doctor."
"If you understand what is the meaning of a doctor, it is someone who takes care of the sick. I have also studied natural medicine all over the world."Reporter: "Can you give me a few countries where you've...""All over the world!" That T&T Guardian reporter failed to show respect for a man who, in the fine tradition of other doctors like Dr Who, Dr Seuss and Dr Dre, is a pioneer in his field.
Sayers has been offering cures for every manifestation of cancer in the human species for many years now. He's also positioned himself in his lively and pee-my-pants-hilarious radio adverts as the saviour of marriages. Offering an end to flaccid misfires in the boudoir, Sayers has got the pills and potions to deliver a rock-hard solution for this closeted problem. His empire, Naturalised Herbs, doesn't trifle with unpronounceable, pharmaceutical-sounding names like Viagra. They cut right to the chase on their labels with more obvious appellations such as "My Long Hard Wood."
These erectile-dysfunction pills are said to contain grapeseed, garlic and parsley...the beginnings of one of my signature vinaigrettes. A simple salad no longer seems innocent.Whatever you may think of Trevor Sayers and his outlandish and insupportable claims, he is extremely successful for one reason: Trinis swear by their herbal remedies.
The dreaded chikungunya virus has inspired the circulation of numerous "paw-paw leaf tea" recipes, with users attesting to its wondrous works. It is understandable that people will resort to any salve when the only hope against the debilitating ravages of ChikV is Panadeine in one hand and a chaplet in the other.
Herbal remedies have always been a part of our lives, with equal doses of scepticism and blind belief. My father, having grown up in Manzanilla, was very much a country bookie. Our household confronted illness with a mix of conventional medicines and inherited herbal treatments. Whenever the flu beckoned, fever-grass tea was the default strategy for my father. Fever grass, known more widely as lemon grass, was placed in boiling water like conventional tea and administered to the virus-stricken in the house.
I remember the tea as having a surprisingly pleasant taste and from my recollection it did seem to relieve symptoms of searing fever and body pains associated with the garden-variety flu-bug virus of my youth.
My father was also a fervent disciple of "sweating out" a fever. As children, a running fever meant that we were cocooned in blankets and left to sweat like a day labourer until the fever broke. If my core temperature didn't trigger a Fukushima-scale meltdown I usually felt better the next day. Many doctors, however, posit that trying to break a fever by forcing body temperature even higher is ludicrous.
Well, what can I say? My father was raised in an environment steeped in home remedies because in those days there were no pharmacies around the corner and the development of universal health care in this country was very much in its infancy. Wedded as he was to traditional remedies, when he developed more serious conditions in later life he had the common sense to go see a specialist instead of putting up a pot.
Still, there are many people who invest their faith and considerable sums of money in herbal remedies, and there are several enterprising souls out there who will never miss an opportunity to part a fool with his or her money. Take for example a sign I saw tacked up on a lamp post recently."Cutting your breast does not cure cancer, come to us and remain with your two breast."
You and I might think that "eye of newt" to treat breast cancer is beyond preposterous, but not to the believers.
It is time for conventional medicine to acknowledge the existence of traditional medicine. A greater understanding of the role that traditional remedies plays in ordinary people's lives can enable doctors to serve the ailing public more effectively. An environment of understanding would also create hostile conditions for fraudsters out there offering everything from overnight weight loss pills to resurrection from actual death.
While neither endorsing nor rejecting herbal remedies, it is important to accept them as an important part of our culture. This is really the only way decent folks can be shielded from the shenanigans of charlatans.