95.4 Medicine

 95.4 Medicine

 

Question:

            How should a physician treat his patient?

Answer:

A physician should diagnose the disease and determine

its cause and remedy before treatment.                                            (Couplet – 948)

A physician should study the patient’s condition, nature

of the sickness, and the time before treatment.                                (Couplet – 949)

நோய்நாடி நோய்முதல் நாடி அதுதணிக்கும்

வாய்நாடி வாய்ப்பச் செயல்.                               (குறள் – 948)

உற்றான் அளவும் பிணியளவும் காலமும்

கற்றான் கருதிச் செயல்.                                       (குறள் – 949)

 

Explanation:

                In Couplets 948 and 949, Valluvar provides instructions for the physician. First, he says that the physician should study the symptoms and diagnose the cause of the patient’s disease. Second, the physician must consider the various options for the treatment and select the proper treatment method. Next, in prescribing the treatment, the physician should consider the capacity of the patient to tolerate the treatment, the progress of the disease, and the time for treatment. All the instructions given by Valluvar are relevant even today. The only thing that is not clear is the advice regarding time. Most of the commentators interpret “time” as the season of the year. These days, physicians do not consider the season a relevant treatment factor. It is more appropriate to think of “time” in Couplet 949 as the right time for treatment. Sometimes, the physicians may want to delay certain treatments or start the treatment sooner.