The term “granny therapy” [பாட்டி வைத்தியம்] refers to the ancient tradition of ‘Herbalism’. It means treatment of disease using medicinal plants. This existed even about 60000 years ago. As civilizations came about, each society or civilization started practicing separate forms of Herbalism. This depended on the locally available materials and individual cultures. Thus, different forms of medicine like Chinese, Indian and Greek originated. During the 1400s, in the European countries, a spirit of curiosity prevailed as to ‘How’ and ‘Why’ things worked. This saw the birth of Allopathy or modern medicine as we know it today.
Both “granny therapy” [பாட்டி வைத்தியம்] and Allopathy have their own basis and principles. “patty vaithiyam” use whole herbs or herbal extracts in different forms along with some ingredients of animal or mineral origin. Allopathy on the other hand uses naturally or synthetically engineered molecules. The treatment using natural remedies is holistic, that is, treating the individual as a whole and not any symptom or indication. This system believes that a disease is not diagnosed by symptoms alone but also on the mental and spiritual health of the patient. In Modern medicine or Allopathy, treatment is based on symptoms, and is based on‘cause and effect’. It focuses on what physical being causes the ailment and what can be done to cure it. The philosophy behind “patty vaithiyam” is that Nature has all the ingredients to treat the disease. Nature includes the patient’s own body. Allopathy believes in specifically targeting the disease causing organisms.
In a way, both systems have one basic role, treatment of ailments and keeping the body and mind well. So, a synergy between the two cannot be ruled out. The exchange of philosophies can lead to both systems co-existing and prove a double boon to patients.
