Mixing home remedies with allopathic treatment at Aligarh district hospital

AGRA: The sight of

‘neem’ leaves

hanging besides the bed of a patient in an

allopathic hospital

may look odd but for those who believe in its medicinal and spiritual values, these ‘desi nuskhas’ (

traditional remedies

) coupled with

modern day medicine

provide faster relief.


In Aligarh’s

Malkhan Singh district hospital

the site of

neem leaves

dangling from the beds of patients, particularly in the burns ward, is quite a common sight and even doctors have learned to live with it, despite the fact that chances of infections to a burn patient are extremely high and they are virtually kept isolated in the ward.

“There is no harm to continue with these times tested home remedies along with the medicines and treatment being given by doctors here”, says Radhey Shyam, one such patient who has neem leaves hanging from his bedpost. He says these leaves “ward off evil spirits” also besides their medicinal values. “We even tie these leaves on the entrance of our houses”, he said while admitting that doctors here are “co-operative” and allow them to indulge in these practices.

Another patient, Pappu, said his family members decided to put the leaves around the bed, as they have medicinal value and help curing skin infections. He said in addition the smell from the leaves provides relief from the stench of medicines that are administered to patients here.

However, chief medical officer of the hospital, Dr R Kishan said that there are no instructions to the staff to allowing tying of neem leaves around patient’s bed. He said, if anyone is indulging in such a thing, the staff must counsel them as there can be no justification to it.

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