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Homeopathy gaining popularity in UAE

Most people in the UAE suffer from ailments that are either stress-related or psychosomatic, according to an expert in the field of homeopathy.

“Close to 93 per cent of the population in the UAE suffer from diseases that are caused due to bad lifestyle choices,” said founder and chairman of Dr Batra’s Positive Health Clinic Dr Mukesh Batra.

“Diseases like migraine, chronic obesity, bronchitis, dandruff and other diseases, which have high incidences in the UAE, are caused purely by poor choices in lifestyle. Most patients who come to us here in Dubai have stress-related problems,” added Dr Batra.

Homeopathy, an alternative form of medicine, gaining fast popularity in the emirates, now has several hundred practitioners in the UAE. Dr Batra, who was in the UAE to receive the ‘Asia’s Most Promising Leader in Healthcare’ award, spoke to Khaleej Times about the fast increase in popularity of homeopathic medicine, especially to combat diseases that allopathic medicine has no cure for.

The Indian chain of homeopathic clinics launched in in Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) in 2009. Initially, there was serious scepticism about this form of medicine, but people have begun to use homeopathy as the first option in treatment now.

“People have come to become educated about the benefits of homeopathy. Apart from South Asians, who are already aware of homeopathy, the form of treatment has also gained popularity among Arab nationals and Emiratis. Initially this form of medicine was treated with a lot of scepticism, especially since there were several illegal practitioners in the UAE before official homeopathy doctors were introduced,” said Dr Batra. “We have a lot of women and children walking into our clinics, and in the last two years especially, and now we have a changing mindset. Several Emirati women have come in for treatment of hair and skin diseases. The success rate of the clinic in DHCC has been phenomenal,” he added.

According to Dr Batra, common diseases among the general UAE population are mostly stress-based. Hypertension, hyperacidity, insomnia, obesity, hair loss, bronchitis, and skin diseases are among the most common here.

“Most people come in for treatment of hair loss and skin diseases. In most cases, people are tired of the high cost of diagnostics and having to go from doctor to doctor for different opinions and I think the main reason people have become open to it is because the success rates are generally high,” he added.

Public confidence in homeopathic medicine has improved drastically, according to a survey that was conducted by DHCC. “Close to 48 per cent of the UAE population had tried out alternative medicine and about 55 per cent were happy with the results, as a result there are more practitioners in the market,” he added.

“Alternative medicine is not new to people of this region. People have become more open to trying alternative form of medicines.”

His clinic is also open to new technology. “We have introduced the first ever-3D Skin assessment camera in all our clinics in India as well as Dubai that analyses skin disorders.

“The machine, based on optical technology developed at Dublin’s Trinity College, allows the skin to be viewed in two and three dimensions and enables multi-spectral analysis of epidermis and dermis. It analyses the skin three layers deeper and gives a heads up if there are any symptoms of a skin disease arising.

“Furthermore, a very important benefit of the technology is the predictive analysis wherein the 3D imaging diagnosis will help the doctor to measure the efficacy and progress of the treatment three months before it is visible to the naked eye. It helps gauge response of the patient to the treatment. As the problem is diagnosed much in advance, it can also be treated sooner.”

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com