Doctor Nguyễn Tiến Ninh, deputy director of the centre, checks the health of a patient before the detoxification treatment. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Huệ

HÀ NỘI — For a number of years, the Việt Nam Centre for Social Protection for Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims has strived to help Agent Orange (AO) victims overcome their pain and hardships, even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The centre, which is in Yên Bình Ward, Thạch Thất District in Hà Nội, is divided into different zones, such as clinics, rehabilitation rooms, and vocational training rooms for computer science, sewing and other careers.

Nguyễn Thăng Long, director of the centre, said that the centre is home to 300-500 (AO) victims from different provinces for a treatment period of 21 days.

Trương Bình Long, from Thủ Dầu Một City in the southern province of Bình Dương, started a treatment period at the centre on December 2. He said that he suffered from diabetes, exhaustion and unstable blood pressure. After several days treatment, he felt healthier and his blood pressure improved.

Nguyễn Đình Hòa, another victim from Bình Dương Province, said that he joined the resistance war in 1963 and took part in a number of battles. He was contaminated with AO so he regularly felt tired, and suffered high blood pressure. He was diagnosed with cancer.

At the centre, he was helped with morning exercises, and was given health checks and vitamins every day. Now he feels much better, and can eat and sleep well.

Doctor Nguyễn Tiến Ninh, deputy director of the centre, said that the method being applied to help AO victims was called the Hubbard method, which was applied in many countries including the US, Russia and Australia.

This method involves detoxification through vitamins, minerals with high content, vegetable oils combined with adequate diet and sleep, exercise, especially high-temperature sauna sessions lasting three or four hours per day.

Each AO victim will participate in a closed detoxification process for 21 days. The daily detoxification programme begins with a health check and blood pressure measurement for the patient.

After that, the patient is given a variety of vitamins and then does vigorous exercise such as jogging with gradually increasing intensity each day from 10-30 minutes before entering the sauna with temperatures of up to 80 degrees Celsius.

The patient will sit in the sauna room until they can't stand it, then go out and pour water on themselves to cool down. They keep repeating the process for a period of one to four hours depending on each person’s health.

During the sauna process, the patient will be given salt and water to replace the lost water in their body. From the third day, they are given mineral water.

At the end of the sauna, the patient is given herbal oils to have together with their meals in the afternoon.

Ninh said that one patient, on the first day of going to the centre, medical staff had to help him walk. But after 21 days of treatment, he was able to walk on his own and now can help his family with farm work.

Development for the community

The centre started its work in 2016. After five years, it has treated nearly 1,500 AO victims with positive results.

Deputy Chairman of the Việt Nam Central Association of Agent Orange Victims Nguyễn Văn Khanh said that the centre was founded in order to treat AO victims across the country.

The centre works with provinces and cities to bring AO victims to the centre for convalescent leave and detoxification.

People coming to the centre must have two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and test negative for SARS-CoV-2. All must follow preventive measures based on the Ministry of Health (MoH)’s instructions.

Assessing the method, director Long said that it gave the most positive and effective detoxification results. Victims with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, joint pain and headaches all get better.

Their health significantly improved after the rigorous sauna and detoxification process, he said.

Medical staff at the centre are annually trained by international organisations in Japan and Korea. The centre has advanced processes and machinery funded by American scientists. All vitamins, minerals and vegetable oils used in the treatment process are exclusively sponsored by the US, imported directly from the US and licensed by the MoH, said Long.

In the future, the centre will offer the service to different people who are sick so that the scientific method can expand in the community. The treatment period can last for seven, 14 or 21 days to make it suitable for many people. — VNS