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With syrup medicines banned, how are parents treating their sick children?
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Alternatives: As Indonesia announces a temporary ban on syrup-based medicines and their over-the-counter sales due to a rise in acute kidney injury (AKI) among children, what can parents do to cure their little ones? (Unsplash/Tanaphong Toochinda)
W
ith a number of syrup-based medicines now banned by the country, parents share their current, temporary solutions for their children’s light illnesses.
Indonesia has announced a temporary ban on syrup-based medicines and their over-the-counter sales amid an ongoing probe into an unexplained rise in acute kidney injury (AKI) causing nearly 100 children mortal cases.
Living in a country rich in flora, fauna and tradition, Indonesians have access to an abundant availability of various species of plants some believe have medicinal functions. Across Indonesia’s myriad cultures, from Chinese to Javanese Indonesians, recipes have been handed down to keep families healthy, including through cia po (derived from the Hokkien dialect, the term can be translated as simply ‘tonic’) and jamu.
The Jakarta Post speaks to parents who now, at least temporarily, rely again on these herbal remedies to cure mild ailments in their children.
Family recipe: Theresia Olivia (left), mother of Christopher Caniswara, 20 (middle) and Jonathan Hardy (right) said she always believed in the medicinal recipe handed down from her parents as it could fasten the recovery process. (Courtesy of Theresia Olivia) (Courtesy of Theresia Olivia/.)
Non-medicine treatment
Theresia Olivia, a 47-year-old mother from Yogyakarta said that she often boiled aromatic ginger in water and added a little bit of palm sugar to treat her son's cough, or lemon, ginger, and honey to treat her children's fever. Ginger is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties.
