Page 73 - Proceedings of The Fifth Meeting of Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin

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5.3 Mr. Nguyen Tan TUOC

Hometown: Tiền Giang Province
Ethnic group represented: Kinh
Years of practice: 35 years
Area of expertise: Acupuncture
Previous award or recognition received: -
Educational background and work experience: When he was
18 years old, he learned about medicines and how to feel the
pulse at His Nam Buddha, His Tho City. He also started
practicing "Qi Gong", learned about Vietnamese acupuncture,
and massage when he was 25. Since then he has practiced
medical acupuncture. He accumulated a lot of useful experience
of medical acupuncture for more than 30 years. He has treated
and rehabilitated about 7,000-8,000 patients a year.
Knowledge transfer: He learned the treatment methods from the ancestors and Buddha’s
teaching. Traditionally, this traditional medicine knowledge was supposed to be taught only
within the family; however, an interested person can get the training for free if he/she passed
the examination and was selected by the doctor.
Treatment process:
1. Feel the pulse and transmit one less "Qi Gong" for
patients during feeling the pulse.
2. Bloodletting (extract and squeeze the blood) in pain
scores (in appropriate circumstances)
3. Acupuncture needles on the head with many
different levels. Acupuncture needles on the "feel"
between Herbalist and patients.
4. “To dry in the moxa" around the needles for 20-30
minutes.
5. Can be combined with electrical stimulation and
infrared phototherapy.
6. Take off the needles, massage around the pain.
7. Guiding the patients during treatment and after the
treatment process:
- Instruct patient to abstain from some types of
foods while having soreness, e.g., beef, chicken,
shrimp, etc.
- Ask the patient to adhere to the do-and-don’t
principles, e.g. Do not attend the "funeral". Do not
have sex during the treatment and convalescence.
Drink at least 2 liters of water per day. Eat at least 500
g of fruit and vegetables a day. Be outside to see the
sun every morning for 30 minutes to combine with
nature while practicing deep breathing.
Guru worship:-
Professional attitude: Actually, he is very proud and
pleased to serve the community as a folk healer.
Showcase summary: Mr. Nguyen Tan Tuoc
introduced himself about his background and experiences in medical acupuncture, and
described about his treatment process with acupuncture.