IMA and IHMA Spar over Drugs Use

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Indian Homoeopathic Medical Association (IHMA) are locked in a spat over an advice to the public by the latter on the use of modern medicine drugs for diseases that break out during monsoon, chiefly caused by viruses transmitted by mosquitoes.

While the IMA has accused the homoeopaths of misleading people on modern medicine, the IHMA refuted this by claiming that it had only cautioned against overuse and that its standing as a branch of medicine had been undermined by the IMA.

Reacting to the homoeopath association’s statements recently, IMA’s Kozhikode branch president Ajit Baskhar said his organisation might go to court for suitable action, accusing the IHMA of misleading the public on the use of modern drugs, especially paracetamol, for controlling fever that is one of the symptoms of dengue and chikungunya. The IHMA was accused of claiming that overuse of paracetamol led to a fatal drop in platelet count.

IMA questions action

Dr. Baskhar asserted that the IHMA should not mislead people with such statements and that it did not have the right to comment on the practices in modern medicine.

In response to this, the IHMA said that it had only asked the people not to panic on the signs of any communicable disease during monsoon and not to consume an overdose of analgesics. It accused the IMA of triggering panic among the public.

IHMA stance

The IHMA tried to tell the public not to panic and also not consume overdose of analgesics without consulting a doctor. The IMA was objecting to this well-intended attempt and “threatens us with legal action,” IHMA district president K.P. Mohanan and its secretary K. Abdul Gafar said in a statement.

Other than pointing out the dangers, the IHMA had never advised people to refrain from consuming any drug that did not belong to homoeopathy. The IMA had gone overboard by threatening to take the IHMA to court, they said.

Source: The Hindu