Doctors at Vietnam’s Danang traditional medicine hospital have successfully treated three hardened drug users, fueling a hope on the development of a new homeopathic remedies for heroin addition and withdrawal. The patients said they had been addicted to heroin for between six and ten years and all relapsed after being released from various compulsory rehabilitation centers, but they are now cured. The patients submitted to six sessions of electro-acupuncture every day for around a week between September 29 and October 9 at the hospital. The acupuncture treatment was developed to stimulate the brain’s endorphins (or endogenous morphine) and prevent cravings. The acupuncture sessions are supplemented with so-called “fire treatments” in which the practitioner applies an herbal paste to a patient’s body, covers it with a towel soaked in an alcohol solution and then lights it on fire. One patient, 34 years old, said the first days of his treatment went very smoothly, compared to previous rehabilitation efforts while another patient, T.T.A., 28, who was addicted for seven years, said the treatment was short but really effective.
Tests have proven that A. is clean of drugs, but he still seeks regular therapy sessions, in addition to the herbal regimen prescribed by doctors. Doctor Huynh Su who is in charge of drug addiction treatment at the hospital, said “The patients got rid of their cravings quite smoothly from the first days.”
Dr. Su said they must follow therapy every day to continue the detoxification process and need to continue receiving electro-acupuncture and fire therapy every two days for two months after their release.
They also need physical therapy and psychological consultation sessions to overcome future temptations, Mr. Su said.
Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the ministry’s Examination and Treatment Department, said: “It’s very hard to eliminate the idea of having drugs completely. It takes a lot of will.”
Vietnam has more than 170,000 drug users. (Thanh Nien – Young People Oct 11)
