Chromotherapy doesn’t just mean painting your house the right colour. There have been technological advancements that use lasers for better and swifter results. “The laser has an accurate frequency and wavelength of colour that can give quick results,” said Dr Kaleem Ahmed Baig, a colour therapist who claims that he has had a recovery rate of 60 to 70 per cent. His patients mostly have problems such as migraine, stomach ulcers and psychological trouble. His therapy programme includes the use of milk, instead of water. The combination is kept out in the sun for two days with a wooden base underneath it and given to patients as medication. Dr Baig also felt that people are turning towards alternative methods of therapy because high-powered medication is proving to be devastating for their health in the long run. “The success rate of colour therapy is noticeable because it can directly stimulate the endocrine glands,” he claimed.

What do people say?

The Express Tribune caught up with the mother of a girl who benefited from colour therapy. “Fatima nearly drowned [once] and since then she was not able to breathe on her own and suffered from other complications as well,” said her mother Aliya. The family lives in Riyadh and went to Lahore in search of alternative treatments. Fatima went to one therapist who used a combination of treatments which included the use of coloured lights on her body. “[He] used a blue light on Fatima’s head for an hour or two during which she used to cry initially but eventually it started to work,” her mother claimed. “She came to Lahore on a stretcher but went back sitting properly in a seat.”

Another enthusiast is Asim, whose mother Zubaida could not walk due to partial paralysis. “I had to be there for my mother all the time because she was not able to do anything without my assistance,” he said. The family had tried neuropathic drugs but they did not help her and the side-effects were even more painful.

Just before they gave up, they went to a therapist who used different coloured lights on her legs, including red, which is allegedly used for energy. “I believe my mother recovered from many deficiencies in her body from colour therapy and now she walks and does things on her own,” said Asim.

REPORTING BY AMNA KHAN

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2010.
LINK :http://tribune.com.pk/story/32574/colour-me-better/