The Place and Importance of Traditional Treatment Systems in Coopering with Epidemic Diseases

Abstract

History is full of many difficult life events that deeply affect human life. Difficult life events such as earthquakes, floods, famines, wars and epidemics cause mass deaths. Epidemics are perhaps the most traumatic of these difficult life events. Fear of catching epidemic diseases brings along anxiety, stress and depressive behavior disorder. In order to prevent these diseases, people benefit from religious and cultural knowledge, namely folk medicine or traditional treatment systems. Traditional treatment systems are all techniques in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, including phytotherapy, pharmacology and physical exercises. These techniques may vary from society to society. As a matter of fact, every society has its own religion, knowledge, skills and ancestral culture. By this means, in the traditional treatment system, each society tries to cope with its own religious and cultural experiences. Traditional treatment systems, which have been effective since ancient times, are used together with modern medicine in the treatment of some epidemic diseases even in today's information age as in the past. Study; It deals with the past, present and future of traditional treatment systems in countries such as Egypt, Africa, India, China, and Turkey from sociological, religious and psychological perspectives. The study also aims to contribute to the literature by evaluating traditional treatment systems in the context of coping and religious coping concepts.