Mangagaw for Dengue?

His son's blood count had plummeted and it hurt him to see the doctors place dextrose on his son's tiny arms. They also asked him to prepare for possible blood transfusion as his son's blood test confirmed dengue.

Being a government driver, the possible medical costs bothered him. He was most concerned, however, about his son. He saw many other young patients that have been requested to be transferred immediately to bigger hospitals as their condition, similar dengue cases, has reached a critical stage. This was the 4th day since his son had been hospitalized.

He learned about mangagaw or what is elsewhere called as well as tawa-tawa or gatas-gatas. He was informed that about 15 roots (no leaves) of this herb should be boiled for about 15 minutes in about half a liter of water. When the boiled water turns a darkish color, he learned that it should be drained and cooled. Then, he offered this concoction to his son to drink. Interspersed with Gatorade, apple juice, and this (he mixed brown sugar to make the taste more acceptable to his son), he observed happily that his son's condition started to get better immediately. On the second day of this regimen, his son's dextrose was removed. Two days after, his son's doctors said he was ready to go home safely. His son had now been running and playing happily in his hospital room!

While he was happy to be able to find an inexpensive cure for his son, he was also very sad to know that the condition of his son's co-patients became more critical. He lamented the fact that he could only advise them to look for mangagaw as his own supply was very limited, enough only for his son. He vowed to plant more in his home as well as in his work site so that the mangagaw can be available to anyone who may need this for dengue anytime in the near future.

We can confirm other similar cases of dengue that were cured after the patients drank mangagaw. We also know of another case where the same herb was boiled and drank by an academician who had anemia, and he was cured as well.

We still have to await the final medical verdict about the efficacy of this herb or weed for dengue and other blood-related ailments. The personal testimonies, however, are there for those who care to listen and to believe. The decision to use mangagaw for dengue is, however, ultimately for the person and their families to take. Our role here is merely to share what we have witnessed, not to prescribe or force this on anyone else.

We also wish that our health authorities can speed up the verification process related to this herb so that if proven safe and effective, our people can have a very accessible, inexpensive and abundant supply of this herb, and this country can share this knowledge with the rest of the world.

In this period of very erratic weather conditions and dirty surroundings, it is really very difficult to stay healthy and well. As one ad aptly puts it, "bawal magkasakit!" Not only does sickness affect the patient, it affects the whole family as well, especially poor families who can barely afford to stay alive each day.

In a reunion with our dear friend, Dr. Jimmy Tan, he recommended daily intake of five simple vegetables: Spinach or kulitis, kangkong,, talbos ng kamote, sili leaves, and malunggay. These can be boiled; others have made these into tea by drying and putting these in bags, or these can be prepared however one wishes to. No harm as these have been proven to be very nutritious vegetables across many generations of Filipinos!

We also want to share our own home treatment for colds and cough. For clogged nose due to colds or sinusitis, one may wish to try taking and "crumpling" several atis leaves and bringing these close to the nose. Or the crumpled atis leaves can be inserted inside one"s pillow which one uses at night. We still have to ask authorities or research on this topic. But what we have personally experienced countless times is that the atis leaves immediately unclog the nose so that smell and easy breathing is restored very quickly!

For coughs, we have choices: We either boil atis leaves (especially for hard cough) or take a number of oregano (or calavo) leaves, pound, and take drink about a tablespoon of the juice , or we drink a tablespoon of pure calamansi (only on a full stomach), then so far, our cough either disappears within the next day or more but it never lingers enough to bother us for long! For lingering cough, we take shell soup, with lots of sautéed ginger and tomatoes! Combining reflexo-therapy with natural herbal treatment have worked for us for so many years now. Daily intake of Vitamin C or pure calamansi juice have also protected us against frequent attacks of colds, cough, and fever.

Thank God for natural cures for us all!

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