Singapore- Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is working wonders for patients at the Singapore Zoo, the facility said Friday. TCM has been successfully used on 50 species of animals without many of the side effects of pharmaceuticals.
Oh Soon Hock, a senior veterinarian, told The Straits Times he has been applying TCM principles to furry or scaly patients whenever conventional treatments have been ineffective.
"I want to help these animals who may have otherwise been put down if they have serious illnesses that cannot be treated," he was quoted as saying.
TCM's success for humans or animals lies in its holistic approach, said Oh. He mentioned the zoo's famed orangutan Ah Meng, who was suffering from constipation for six months. She was put on laxatives and her diet was changed, but relief was only temporary.
Within a week of being put on a TCM concoction of 10 herbs ground into a power, Ah Meng was moving her bowels regularly.
"Veterinarians at the zoo hope to establish and spread the use of TCM to treat a wider variety of illnesses," Oh said.
