Page 27 - Proceedings of The Fifth Meeting of Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin

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 Base on the estimation 70% to 8o% of Cambodian are use traditional medicine.
Traditional Medicine is the first choice of Cambodian people for their health care
problems. It’s more cheaper than modern medicine and easy to find in their
communities. Traditional Medicine including Traditional Khmer Medicine, Traditional
Chinese Medicine, Traditional Vietnamese Medicine, Ayuvedic Medicine and
indigenous medicine (Cham, Khmer Loeu: They believed on “Arak” or “Nak Ta”.
 Traditional healers/folk healers treat the diseases from minor to sever and chronic
diseases. Those diseases are the result of imbalance of the four elements in the
body or impact from external factors or spiritual.
 For treatment to the patients Traditional Healers/folk healers could be identified
the diseases base on:
1. Physical factors /external factors
2. Imbalance of the elements (treated by herbal medicine/diet)
3. Spiritual factors / supernatural factors:
Example: send away evil spirit inside the body, extend fate, health
forecasting, supernatural/magic power, holy water bathing/spaying , praying for good
luck from buddha or ancestors, Nak Ta, Arak ..…

Ethno medicine practices/treatment
1. Spiritual Practices/treatments

Holy water bathing Health prediction

Hot iron piece treatment Pray for good luck