SINGAPORE - Traditional practices and conventional medical treatments could work together to help treat heat injuries, but more research is needed in this area, said an expert at a heat health conference on Jan 10.

Conventional treatments, such as ice bath and intravenous (IV) drip, are needed immediately for acute onset of heat injuries.

But subsequently, traditional medical treatments, including acupuncture and cupping, can help a patient rehabilitate or prevent heat injuries.

“Conventional medicine and traditional medicine are not at loggerheads with each other – they simply need to put aside differences to understand and knowledge each other’s unique strengths and position themselves appropriately at different phases of recovery to bring about the most benefits,” said Mr Brandon Yew, senior traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physician at TCM clinic Real Health Medical.

He also noted that cultural and traditional beliefs and practices play a crucial role in many areas of South-east Asian communities due to their strong sense of culture and heritage.

Mr Yew was speaking on the final day of the First Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) South-east Asia Heat Health Forum, held at the Parkroyal on Beach Road from Jan 7 to 10.

The conference marked the first time experts across the heat response chain – from humanitarian organisations to weather scientists to medical professionals – convened under the network to discuss South-east Asia’s heat challenges and potential solutions.

One of the main aims of GHHIN is to coordinate the regional response to rising heat. Its South-east Asia hub is based in NUS.

Dr Joy Shumake-Guillemot, co-founder of GHHIN, told The Straits Times that most of the knowledge about extreme heat on human health have come from temperate Europe and North America, where heatwaves happen during the summer.

“But understanding the lived experience of communities who are chronically exposed to hot, humid heat is unique in this region,” added Dr Shumake-Guillemot, who also leads the World Health Organisation-World Meteorological Organisation Joint Office for Climate and Health.

“People’s risk perception (towards heat) is so deeply grounded in their cultural understandings, cultural beliefs, traditions and diets. How heat has manifested through history and is understood in traditional Chinese medicine is really insightful for how people are going to respond to this risk in culturally appropriate ways,&rdquo...