How did physician Nguyễn Văn Toán use traditional medicine to treat leprosy?
Until very recently, leprosy (Hansen's Disease) was considered incurable and highly infectious. However, in the late 1870s, royal physician Nguyễn Văn Toán, head of the Royal Health Department, submitted a petition to set up a centre to treat the disease. The king knew that Chinese doctors, then thought to be the most medically advanced, were powerless against the disease. He summoned the best physicians for seminar. Participants listened to Nguyễn Văn Toán's description of the disease and the proposed treatment centre and discussed its pros and cons. King Tự Đức approved the plan.
Mr. Toán assigned his deputy to the daily work at the Health Department, while he plunged into researching the Vietnemese and Chinese medical literature on Hansen's Disease. He also brought patients to his centre for treatment. Many of his friends were concerned for his reputation if he failed. Some colleagues at the Centre dropped out after initial failures; his opponents saw the chance to attack. A true physician, Mr. Toán worked on. He succeeded, curing many of his patients, who then went home. The disease rate lessened. In 1880, King Tự Đức reviewed the results of Mr. Toán's work and awarded him 3 cups of royal wine and granted him a 3-month holiday.
Mr. Toán assigned his deputy to the daily work at the Health Department, while he plunged into researching the Vietnemese and Chinese medical literature on Hansen's Disease. He also brought patients to his centre for treatment. Many of his friends were concerned for his reputation if he failed. Some colleagues at the Centre dropped out after initial failures; his opponents saw the chance to attack. A true physician, Mr. Toán worked on. He succeeded, curing many of his patients, who then went home. The disease rate lessened. In 1880, King Tự Đức reviewed the results of Mr. Toán's work and awarded him 3 cups of royal wine and granted him a 3-month holiday.
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