Wonders of Chinese Medicine

Haven't you notice lately how dozens of Chinese drugstores have sprouted around the metropolis? These drugstores sell traditional Chinese/Asian medicine, which offers a different alternative to Western medicine. I remember a time when these drugstores are only found in downtown Manila. I used to visit my uncle and grandmother in Chinatown, they own one of the oldest Chinese drugstores along T. Alonzo. It was like an alchemist laboratory there -- filled with strange looking herbs, pertified seahorses, dried orange peels, rhinoceros horns, exotic looking seeds and leaves. Its been ages since I last visited the store, but I often get reminded of them whenever I pass by one of these newer Chinese drugstores in Greenhills, Baclaran or Makati.

With the sudden growth of Chinese drugstores came the ugly rumor that a lot of these Chinese medicines are fake and counterfeit reproductions of the original. Some of these medicines have only half the effectiveness, while others have none. Many Filipino-Chinese were angered, particularly my parents. Why would people exploit the sick and dying? Some Tsinoys blame it on certain unscrupulous businessmen from the mainland who are out to earn a quick buck. These Mainlanders have acquired a nasty reputation of counterfeiting everything - from ball point pens, shampoos, pencils. They might be the ones making these fake medicines.

I wrote about this because a friend of mine recently asked me to scout around for some diet pills. The pills cost four hundred bucks in Makati, she heard that the medicine was cheaper in Chinatown. I inquired three or four Chinese medicine stores and the price of the same pill varied - from one hundred eighty to ninety-five pesos. The last store I asked did not sell the product but the owner warned me that these pills were not effective and most are fake. She then tried to sell me another kind of slimming medicine which cost four thousand pesos.

It would be difficult to trust these sellers, since you don't really know who is telling the truth. Despite these varied prices, selling Chinese medicine is still a lucrative business. The government has no way of regulating such kinds of medicine, unless they have a team of experts well versed in the field of Chinese medicine. Yet many Filipinos and Chinese still continue to trust on these miracle drugs, despite the risk of being fooled or conned. The only suggestion I can give is that you buy your Chinese medicine from the stores you trust and knew well to carry the real kind of drugs.