From: nguyenpd@ntmtv.UUCP (Phat Nguyen)
Subject: MISC] American, Japanese, and Vietnamese medicine
Originator: nguyenpd@nmtvs315
Reply-To: nguyenpd@ntmtv.UUCP (Phat Nguyen)
Organization: Northern Telecom Inc, Mountain View, CA
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 01:22:49 GMT



I really don't know what the pre-1975 medical experts in Vietnam would
use to treat these conditions, but a Communist doctor would recommend
this 'tha^`n duo?.c`.  It is the truth that this so-called medicine
has been used to treated thousands of conditions ranging from cancer to
heart attack in the post-1975 Vietnamese society -- a miracle drug --
invented by 'ddi?nh cao cua? tri' tue^. loai` nguoi`.'


Condition    American treatment   Japanese treatment       VNese treatment
---------    ------------------   ------------------       ---------------

cut finger     Band-Aid           hospital, professional      Xuye^n Ta^m
                                  bandage from elbow to tip   Lie^n
                                  of finger, thirteen         
                                  varieties of pills, half     
                                  day off work, revisit
                                  hospital everyday for the
                                  next five days

headache       aspirin            hospital, brain scan, eight   Xuye^n Ta^m
                                  varieties of pills, complete  Lie^n
                                  day off work, eye checkup
                                  next day

stubbed toe    curses and         hospital(overnight), X-rays   Xuye^n Ta^m
               aspirin            fourteen pills, two days off  Lie^n
                                  work, cane, professional
                                  bandage encasing entire foot
                                  and ankle

scraped knee   disinfectant and   hospital, antibiotic pills of  Xuye^n Ta^m 
               Band-Aid           every color in the spectrum,   Lie^n
                                  revisit hospital daily for 2
                                  weeks for redressing bandage,
                                  continue wearing knee pad until
                                  end of Rainy Season

sprained ankle cold compresses    see "stubbed toe" above, except  Xuye^n
               later hot ones     walking cast, one week off       Ta^m
                                  work, and six more pills         Lie^n

tired,         eyedrops           hospital, four types of          Xuye^n
scratchy eyes                     prescribed eyedrops (depending   Ta^m
                                  upon time of day), 16 varieties  Lie^n
                                  of pills, a great, whopping
                                  white eye patch (worn on
                                  alternate days), no time off work
                                  (except for daily hospital
                                  visits) but sit around office
                                  all day doing things alternately
                                  one-handed.

cold           aspirin, plenty    badge of honor is white face      Xuye^n
               of fluids,         mask, worn until gray, and        Ta^m
               tissues            37 liters of green tea per day    Lie^n
                                  until next birthday

broken arm     visit doctor, in   rarely happens (Japanese tend to   Xuye^n
               and out same day   have shorter, thicker bones) but   Ta^m
                                  when it does, gangbusters:         Lie^n
                                  hospital confinement for 3 weeks
                                  intravenous feeding, a banquer of
                                  pills (equal otherwise to one
                                  square meal), trip to Hawaii to
                                  recuperate.

pneumonia      visit doctor, bed  hospital (by ambulance), one       Xuye^n
               rest, pills,       month confinement, tests           Ta^m
               chicken noodle     every day for tuberculosis,        Lie^n
               soup               white face mask until next
                                  birthday

broken leg     could spend the    see "broken arm" except            Xuye^n
               night in hospital  hospital confinement until         Ta^m
               could be in        end of year, crutches until        Lie^n
               traction at home   spring; will tak pills
               certainly some     until end of life
               crutch action

broken gall    operation,hospital hospital, operations, rumors       Xuye^n
blader         as long as three   as to whether or not it's          Ta^m
               to five days       cancer ("since doctors won't       Lie^n
                                  tell patients that they have
                                  cancer, the fact that the
                                  patients says he doesn't have
                                  cancer means the doctor told
                                  him he doesn't which means he
                                  probably does have it but the
                                  doctor told him he doesn't"),
                                  confinement until eldest child
                                  graduates from highschool,
                                  plastic surgery to fix stitch
                                  marks, medical leave of
                                  absence from work until "bonus
                                  season," admonitions about ever
                                  eating Western food again,
                                  recuperation at Disneyland in
                                  California


Nguyen Doan Phat
Northern Telecom
Mountain View