Traditional Medicine: Vietnam

In the Vietnamese health care system, traditional medicines play an important role. Theories of healing and oriental philosophy underpin Vietnamese traditional medicine. Chinese traditional medicine influences Vietnamese traditional medicine to a large extent, differing in certain aspects. From the clinical point of view, Vietnamese traditional medicine is not evidence based in most cases, but data on subclinical research suggest otherwise, supporting various Vietnamese herbal drugs in traditional use. Knowledge about herb-drug interactions and [Page 1427]the occurrence of adverse reactions is necessary so as to safely apply the traditional medicines.