Spices and herbs section in Gaza city's al-Zaweya (the corner) market is always crowded with people seeking alternative therapies due to a suffocating Israeli blockade and its ensuing effects on the impoverished coastal strip's medical facilities.

A hole-in-the-wall store with tens of bottles standing on wooden shelves, Ali Muhissen's shop is the destination of many patients in this public market.

Proud of his experience in the filed, the 58-year-old Muhissen runs a business that depends on vinegar and honey that he puts in prescriptions.

"The vinegar I made from fresh fruits, mainly apple and grapes, is one of the best and more beneficial means of treating several illnesses, including dermatitis and ulcer of the stomach," he said.

He also claims to be the best in Gaza when it comes to utilizing traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and homeopathy. For an example, Muhissen says he uses his finger to press instead of inserting needles in the body.

Mostly a mixture of herbs, prescriptions from spice dealers always are trusted by the customers. If not useful, at least they won't harm, explains Yousef Radi, who was watching Muhissen putting the ingredients of his medication into a bottle.

But Mona al-Killani, a renowned alternative medicine specialist, says resorting to spice and herbs dealers to get medication is not always a solution. "Everything these dealers do is irrelevant to studies in this issue; it is not only more than a practical experience."

"Herbal remedies have known basics and it is not a passing prescription," she said, adding that "many frauds in Gaza use this as a means of quick gain."

Fouad al-Hello, another herbs seller in al-Zaweya market, says he inherited this business from his father and grandfather. Familiar with the new technology, al-Hello said he uses the internet to search for alternative medicine materials and tips on how to come up with prescriptions that meet the demands of his clients.

"In the same time, the increasing television programs on herbs and their medical effect have encouraged people to turn out at our stores," al-Hello explained.

According to al-Killani, using herbs as medicine without sufficient knowledge of their possible side effects to some diseases, and mixing up the ingredients could cause serious repercussions.

In Gaza, the Israeli blockade, imposed for more than two years, makes it difficult for patients to travel outside Gaza for advanced treatment. The already ill-equipped hospitals are also on the verge of collapse due to the siege.

Agronomist Rateb Samour has been keeping bees for thirty year. Since the blockade has made it difficult for him to continue producing honey, he used his bees for another purpose.

In a bid to treat his father from stiffness in the joints (rheumatism) after taking him to several doctors in vain, Samour started testing a medicine from his bees, thanks to his "in-depth university studies and research about bees' venom."

"My father's case has notably improved after bees stung him," Samour said. "The news of his recovery spread" in the Beach refugee camp in the west of Gaza city and then to all over the Gaza Strip, he added.

There, at the camp, Samour's bee venom clinic is one of a kind in Gaza as treatment there goes beyond rheumatism to include skin and bone diseases.

Rashad al-Shawa, 23, was one of about 50 men and women waiting to see Samour at the modest waiting room in the clinic.

"I started coming here for three months and I'm recovering better after every session here," said al-Shawa, suffering from extra brain electrical impulses.

Al-Shawa said he resorted to Samour after physicians failed to treat his problem with their orthodox techniques.