What role does Western Medicine play in our society? Western medicine is evidence- based medicine that began in the Western civilization countries like Europe. It is a system in which medical doctors and healthcare professionals treat symptoms. Throughout time medicine has revolutionized into a new traditional era of American health culture. A new culture that now focuses on its fundamental foundation to follow guidelines, rules, and procedures. Medicine and culture have crashed and caused misunderstandings with the results of poor outcomes. The use of medicine has changed and due to prejudice in cultural mixture in beliefs and religion, lack of interest, and the use of cultural home remedies over medicine. Culture has been recognized as
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They have no American cultural background and didn’t speak the English language. Foua and Nao Kao daughter Lia was diagnosed with epileptic seizures at a young age as the Hmong identify it as “quag dab peg” which means the spirit catches you and you fall down. She was treated with multiple types of medications but none seemed to give positive results. The parent’s resourced to what they believed was Lias problem, her soul leaving her body. Foua said, “The doctors can fix some sicknesses that involve the body and blood, but for us Hmong, some people get sick because of their soul, so they need spiritual things. With Lia it was good to do a little medicine and a little neeb, but not too much medicine because the medicine cuts the neeb 's effect. If we did a little of each she didn 't get sick as much, but the doctors wouldn 't let us give just a little medicine because they didn 't understand about the soul” (101).The txiv neeb is a shaman who could bring the soul back and take away the curse. He/she performs a ritual and sacrifices an animal as an exchange of life. Foua and Nao Kao limited her medicine and hoped that if the doctors tried to understand about the soul like they did they could have supported their choice to pursue for spiritual needs including the medical treatment. As time passed Lia’s seizures worsened and ended with brain damage, in a …show more content…
In the book Bless Me, Ultima a classic by Rudolfo Anaya he writes about the power that herbal medicine holds. Ultima is a curandera, a healer who uses folk remedies to heal the sick. Lucas, becomes ill and was not recuperating from any medical objectives. Anaya states, “The power of the doctors and the power of the church had failed to cure my uncle. Now everyone depended on Ultima’s magic” (103). Ultima’s magic is the power to heal with natural remedies using curative herbs by maintaining balances and a physical balance in the body. Ultima prepared Lucas an herbal tea from natural plants that alleviated him from the illness and recovered rapidly. A balance of nature, health, and religion exist between them and illness occurs when one of the three is out of
They have no American cultural background and didn’t speak the English language. Foua and Nao Kao daughter Lia was diagnosed with epileptic seizures at a young age as the Hmong identify it as “quag dab peg” which means the spirit catches you and you fall down. She was treated with multiple types of medications but none seemed to give positive results. The parent’s resourced to what they believed was Lias problem, her soul leaving her body. Foua said, “The doctors can fix some sicknesses that involve the body and blood, but for us Hmong, some people get sick because of their soul, so they need spiritual things. With Lia it was good to do a little medicine and a little neeb, but not too much medicine because the medicine cuts the neeb 's effect. If we did a little of each she didn 't get sick as much, but the doctors wouldn 't let us give just a little medicine because they didn 't understand about the soul” (101).The txiv neeb is a shaman who could bring the soul back and take away the curse. He/she performs a ritual and sacrifices an animal as an exchange of life. Foua and Nao Kao limited her medicine and hoped that if the doctors tried to understand about the soul like they did they could have supported their choice to pursue for spiritual needs including the medical treatment. As time passed Lia’s seizures worsened and ended with brain damage, in a …show more content…
In the book Bless Me, Ultima a classic by Rudolfo Anaya he writes about the power that herbal medicine holds. Ultima is a curandera, a healer who uses folk remedies to heal the sick. Lucas, becomes ill and was not recuperating from any medical objectives. Anaya states, “The power of the doctors and the power of the church had failed to cure my uncle. Now everyone depended on Ultima’s magic” (103). Ultima’s magic is the power to heal with natural remedies using curative herbs by maintaining balances and a physical balance in the body. Ultima prepared Lucas an herbal tea from natural plants that alleviated him from the illness and recovered rapidly. A balance of nature, health, and religion exist between them and illness occurs when one of the three is out of