Vu Ngoc Hai used to fight at B3 battlefield in the Central Highlandsprovince of Kon Tum from 1968 to 1974. By the end of the war, hereturned home in the hope for a peaceful life. It turned out he had toface another fight, which seemed to never come to an end. That is thesilent combat against diseases, the after-effects of the Agent Orange(AO)/dioxin which Hai was exposed to during the war.
“My entire life was spent in hospital. Every few days, I got pain inmy bones and joints together with symptoms of influenza like fever. Iwent to all hospitals from those at district and provincial levels tocentral hospital, but to no avail. The doctors found nothing,” Hairecalled the miserable days living with the illness.
Born in 1945 in Nam Ha commune, Tien Hai district, the northernprovince of Thai Binh, Hai is only one among millions of victims ofthe largest chemical war in the history of humankind. Between 1961 and1971, US troops sprayed nearly 80 million litres of herbicides,including Agent Orange which had a dioxin content of up to 61 percent,on forests across southern Vietnam , with the aim to wipe out theshelters of Vietnamese liberation soldiers.
Although the war has been over for more than half a century, it stillinflicts pain on victims of dioxin, the most toxic chemical thathumankind have ever known. The chemical causes long-term medical andbiological impacts on the health of not only Vietnamese war veterans butalso their children and grandchildren. Therefore, the establishment ofthe Thai Binh Detoxification Centre brought hope in a brighter futurefor AO victims.
“Two years ago, right afterlearning of the toxic purifying programme implemented by the Thai BinhDetoxification Centre, I registered and luckily, got the chance toparticipate in the second detox drive of the centre. After nearly onemonth of treatment, my health improved significantly,” Hai beamed.
He said that after receiving treatment, he no longer suffers fromchronic fever and other influenza symptoms. The pain in his bones andjoints has also eased significantly. He eats and sleeps better, and evenput on weight. Now in good health, Hai joined in Nam Ha commune’sAssociation for Victims of Agent Orange to help other comrades in thesame boat.
Established in late 2010, the ThaiBinh Detoxification Centre is the first facility in Vietnam toconduct dioxin detoxification in human, under the support of theAssociation for Better Living and Education ( ABLE ). The centre has sofar carried out 27 detox rounds (each lasts 20-25 days), benefiting morethan 700 AO victims inside and outside the province.
Based on Hubbard method, which was successfully applied for victimsof the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in Ukraine , thetreatment aims at removing toxic substances out of adipose tissuesthrough sweat glands.
“The Hubbard method issimple and easy to do, but brings high effects if patients followclosely the set process,” said Nguyen Duc Hanh, President of the ThaiBinh provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin.
According to Hanh, the process includes five steps. Before beingdetoxified, patients have to take medical check-ups. Those sufferingfrom either liver or gall diseases, or having anaemia or contagiousdiseases cannot undergo this treatment.
Then,the patients will be given high doses of vitamins, mainly Niacin (alsoknown as vitamin B3), together with doing exercises and takingsteam-baths to discharge toxic substances out of the body.
They also have to take oil containing compounds that help prevent there-absorption of dioxin as well vitamins supplements to compensate forthe loss from sweat discharge.
The centre’sdirector Nguyen Kim Nhat said that this method is absolutely safe andhighly effective. He said most patients see their health improve, whilesome diseases and symptoms such as skin disease, allergy, insomnia anddizziness show a recovery rate of up to 80 - 100 percent.
However, Nhat’s biggest concern is that with five sauna rooms, thecentre can only give detoxification for 40-50 people at a round, whileThai Binh province alone has tens of thousands of AO victims. This meansthat it will take several decades to conduct detoxification for allvictims of the province, not to mention millions of others nationwide.
“I hope the provincial association receives moreassistance from benefactors both at home and abroad to expand thecentre,” Nhat said. He added that in late June, the centre opened atraining course in detox technique for health workers from somelocalities in the region.
The war has passed,but its severe aftermaths remain. Therefore, it is extremely necessaryfor the society to join hands to multiply the model of the Thai BinhDetoxification Centre to other areas across Vietnam, bringing hope tomore victims of dioxin.-VNA
Previous: AO victims refuse to surrender to fate
AO victims not alone in fight for justice
Next: A So – new life sprouts from death
“My entire life was spent in hospital. Every few days, I got pain inmy bones and joints together with symptoms of influenza like fever. Iwent to all hospitals from those at district and provincial levels tocentral hospital, but to no avail. The doctors found nothing,” Hairecalled the miserable days living with the illness.
Born in 1945 in Nam Ha commune, Tien Hai district, the northernprovince of Thai Binh, Hai is only one among millions of victims ofthe largest chemical war in the history of humankind. Between 1961 and1971, US troops sprayed nearly 80 million litres of herbicides,including Agent Orange which had a dioxin content of up to 61 percent,on forests across southern Vietnam , with the aim to wipe out theshelters of Vietnamese liberation soldiers.
Although the war has been over for more than half a century, it stillinflicts pain on victims of dioxin, the most toxic chemical thathumankind have ever known. The chemical causes long-term medical andbiological impacts on the health of not only Vietnamese war veterans butalso their children and grandchildren. Therefore, the establishment ofthe Thai Binh Detoxification Centre brought hope in a brighter futurefor AO victims.
“Two years ago, right afterlearning of the toxic purifying programme implemented by the Thai BinhDetoxification Centre, I registered and luckily, got the chance toparticipate in the second detox drive of the centre. After nearly onemonth of treatment, my health improved significantly,” Hai beamed.
He said that after receiving treatment, he no longer suffers fromchronic fever and other influenza symptoms. The pain in his bones andjoints has also eased significantly. He eats and sleeps better, and evenput on weight. Now in good health, Hai joined in Nam Ha commune’sAssociation for Victims of Agent Orange to help other comrades in thesame boat.
Established in late 2010, the ThaiBinh Detoxification Centre is the first facility in Vietnam toconduct dioxin detoxification in human, under the support of theAssociation for Better Living and Education ( ABLE ). The centre has sofar carried out 27 detox rounds (each lasts 20-25 days), benefiting morethan 700 AO victims inside and outside the province.
Based on Hubbard method, which was successfully applied for victimsof the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in Ukraine , thetreatment aims at removing toxic substances out of adipose tissuesthrough sweat glands.
“The Hubbard method issimple and easy to do, but brings high effects if patients followclosely the set process,” said Nguyen Duc Hanh, President of the ThaiBinh provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin.
According to Hanh, the process includes five steps. Before beingdetoxified, patients have to take medical check-ups. Those sufferingfrom either liver or gall diseases, or having anaemia or contagiousdiseases cannot undergo this treatment.
Then,the patients will be given high doses of vitamins, mainly Niacin (alsoknown as vitamin B3), together with doing exercises and takingsteam-baths to discharge toxic substances out of the body.
They also have to take oil containing compounds that help prevent there-absorption of dioxin as well vitamins supplements to compensate forthe loss from sweat discharge.
The centre’sdirector Nguyen Kim Nhat said that this method is absolutely safe andhighly effective. He said most patients see their health improve, whilesome diseases and symptoms such as skin disease, allergy, insomnia anddizziness show a recovery rate of up to 80 - 100 percent.
However, Nhat’s biggest concern is that with five sauna rooms, thecentre can only give detoxification for 40-50 people at a round, whileThai Binh province alone has tens of thousands of AO victims. This meansthat it will take several decades to conduct detoxification for allvictims of the province, not to mention millions of others nationwide.
“I hope the provincial association receives moreassistance from benefactors both at home and abroad to expand thecentre,” Nhat said. He added that in late June, the centre opened atraining course in detox technique for health workers from somelocalities in the region.
The war has passed,but its severe aftermaths remain. Therefore, it is extremely necessaryfor the society to join hands to multiply the model of the Thai BinhDetoxification Centre to other areas across Vietnam, bringing hope tomore victims of dioxin.-VNA
Previous: AO victims refuse to surrender to fate
AO victims not alone in fight for justice
Next: A So – new life sprouts from death
