In Japan, there is still a lot of blurring of the distinction between folk beliefs and "natural remedies" on the one hand and modern medicine on the other.
Every day, all day long, from morning to night, TV is filled with commercials for dubious health foods that claim to be "effective for ___." They claim to be for knee pain, cancer prevention, frequent urination, or anything else, but in most cases, they're gone after a year and no one remembers them. Most of them are just one-off health scams.
In my personal experience, a homeroom teacher at school delivered about 10 karate chops to the neck of a child (not me) who had a nosebleed. I've also seen a case where a teacher pulled a jammed finger with great force.
The carotid artery runs through the neck, so the theory goes that chopping the neck prevents blood from rushing to the head, preventing nosebleeds and "cooling the head," which is what's good.
The neck contains important nerves connecting the brain to the spinal cord, and the muscles in the neck are weak (we often see scenes in movies and TV shows where someone twists their opponent's neck to kill them instantly, but there is a limit to how much neck muscle can be trained, and the muscle fibers do not become as thick as those in the arms and legs), making it a dangerous act even for adults (Rikidozan (professional wrestler) performed karate chops from the front on the chest, not on the neck), and since the cervical vertebrae of elementary school students are fragile, it was akin to child abuse.
A folk remedy for jammed fingers is that when a dodgeball or basketball hits the tip of the finger, the finger retracts towards the base, so if you pull and stretch it with all your might, it will go back to normal.
A jammed finger is an inflammation of the joints and ligaments, so pulling on the joints is a big deal.
Drinking chitosan after a meal was said to be effective in treating obesity, and it became a huge hit, experiencing explosive popularity. But it quickly disappeared after a series of deaths.
Chitosan is a component of laxatives. It certainly does help you lose weight, but...
There are far too many other examples to list, and there are so many of these that it's impossible to remember them all.
In Japan, new and unusual foods and pseudo-drugs appear every year, claiming to be "good for you" or "effective," but they quickly disappear and are forgotten. And yet, commercials for these foods and "drugs" air on television 24 hours a day, every day.
If you're unfortunate enough to be forced to stay in Japan for an extended period of time for work, or even just for a short trip, even if you fall ill, it's best not to just accept the recommended treatment or take the medication. It's better to research online whether the treatment is evidence-based on Western medicine and whether the medication is safe. It's also a good idea to email your family doctor in your home country and get a second opinion.
In Japan, herbal medicines are prescribed by medical institutions and covered by insurance. However, even herbal medicines can have side effects, so it's best to make sure the person prescribing them is actually a licensed herbalist. In Japan, there is no national qualification for Kampo doctors, and doctors who graduate from medical schools (studying Western medicine) and pass an examination with a virtually 100% pass rate can prescribe Kampo medicine. Kampo medicine can also be purchased freely at pharmacies without a prescription.
Damages Lawsuit: Yamaguchi Mother Sues Midwife for Infant Death "Due to Failure to Provide Vitamin K" - Mainichi.jp (Mainichi Shimbun)
A 33-year-old mother from Yamaguchi City has filed a lawsuit in the Yamaguchi District Court seeking approximately 56.4 million yen in damages against a midwife in the city, claiming that her two-month-old daughter died of bleeding due to the midwife's failure to provide vitamin K. While a research team from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare recommends administering vitamin K to newborns to promote blood clotting, the midwife instead administered sugar tablets from a private organization that advocates natural remedies.
According to the lawsuit, the mother gave birth to a baby girl in August 2009. Approximately one month after birth, the baby developed fever and vomiting, and an acute subdural hematoma was discovered. The hospital where the baby was admitted diagnosed with vitamin K deficiency bleeding, and the baby passed away in October.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, while vitamin K is naturally present in the body, fetuses are prone to deficiency due to low storage and limited production. A deficiency can lead to intracranial bleeding and gastrointestinal bleeding, and is said to be most common in infants around one month old.
In a report published in 1989, a research team from the ministry presented guidelines stating that "vitamin K should be administered orally three times a day: immediately after birth, one week after birth, and one month after birth." This guideline is now included in textbooks for medical professionals and is widely recognized.
According to the private organization, the tablets are made by soaking sugar pellets in a diluted liquid of plants and minerals. According to the lawsuit, the midwife recorded in the maternal and child health handbook that she had administered vitamin K2 syrup, but in fact she had given the tablets three times. In an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun, the midwife said, "I thought the tablets had the same effects as vitamin K."
When the Japan Midwives Association (Tokyo), which received a report of the fatal accident from a midwife in October last year, urged the private organization to administer vitamin K, it was told, "We have not instructed the infant not to give vitamin K."
Mainichi Shimbun, July 10, 2010, Western morning edition.
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