Herbalist saves over 550 snake-bitten victims

LookAtVietnam – In the past 27 years, Mr. Pham Duy in Don Village, in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, has saved more than 550 people who were bitten by snakes.

The herbalist, 75, is a member of the Don Village Oriental Medicine Association. Before settling down in Don Village, Mr. Duy was a literary teacher in the northern province of Hai Duong. Duy and his family, with five children moved from Hai Duong to Dak Lak in order to seek a new life.

This is the land of forests, so Duy has had a chance to apply his knowledge of oriental medicine, which he learned from his father since he was a little boy. The most special remedy that his father taught him is “doat menh tan”, the top secret remedy of his family. This is the remedy to regain the life of snake-bitten victims.

According to Duy, the most poisonous snake is the krait. When one is bitten by a krait, the victim will feel nothing. The bite does not bleed or swell. But the victim will lose of speech after 2-3 minutes only. To be saved, the victim must be given first aid the right way and brought to him immediately.

So far, the herbalist has saved more than 550 snake-bitten victims who came from many provinces. Many cases that hospitals could not help were rescued by Mr. Duy. Some patients presented gold to the doctor to express their gratitude but he did not accept it.

Mr. Duy says that among nearly 600 snake-bitten people that he saved, there were eight victims who were nearly dead when they were brought to him, because they were bitten by cobra or having the cobra spray venom to their eyes, etc.

The herbalist has transmitted the remedy to cure snake-bitten victims to his son, Mr. Pham Du, 44 and his youngest daughter, Pham Thi Minh Nguyet, 27, who is working at the Dak Lak Traditional Medicine Department.(Source: Le Ha- LookAtVietnam)