Does any alternative medicine actually work?
Obivously reiki, homeopathy etc. are at the more ridiculous end, but do any of the less insane-sounding treatments work at all?
Tags: actually, alternative, end, homeopathy, medicine.., Obivously, reiki, treatments work, work
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September 13th, 2010 at 11:09 am
If it works, it isn’t alternative. If it doesn’t, it isn’t medicine!
September 13th, 2010 at 11:52 am
Oh obviously – you’ve tried it then, if not then you should not have such a definite opinion. There are many treatments that work and most of them are not alternative at all – they have been used for thousands of years. What is alternative is all the toxic chemicals used in pharmaceuticals. 10,000 people a year die in the UK as a result of adverse drug reactions and many more when you take into consideration infections picked up in hospitals, hospital mistakes and accidents, doctors mistakes etc. Your faith in the medical profession is touching but blind. If you wish to begin to inform yourself then read Patrick Holford’s Food is Better Medicine than Drugs – it’s a real eye opener and there’s nothing alternative about food.
September 13th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
“There is no alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t work.” -Richard Dawkins
Massage, acupuncture, and hypnotherapy are commonly prescribed to relive pain. Doctors give these recommendations because these systems have been proven to work.
Warm Wishes
-Ryan
September 13th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Herbal medicine is a start but the facts are that the herbs aren’t as focused as the drugs that are derived from those herbs the dosage is a lot smaller and there’s a lot of other stuff in it that is irrelevant to your needs.
(@JAMES) To suggest that a company who would benefit from performing a certain unsavory action, like withholding a cure, is insufficient evidence to claim that they are performing that action. frankly this whole “profit driving sickness” argument is completely childish and only supported by emotions, modern medicine works because we DON’T give credence to emotion, we give credence to what is demonstrated to work. and furthermore its simply not supported by the evidence with the fact that we are manufacturing and administering vaccines that in most cases prevent illnesses, in the cases it dosn’t enough herd immunity is built up that people who’s vaccinations didn’t work are covered by the fact that everyone else is vaccinated.
(@LillyB) your talking about infections and malpractice, these are irrelevant when talking about medicine and effective treatments. to blame the entire field of medicine for the actions of some type of person you could probably find in any field, is simply confirmation bias, and a composition fallacy. in regards to the “toxins” in pharmaceuticals this is just another childish argument, nature dosn’t know best, poison ivy is all natural but i don’t suggest you go rolling around in a field of it.
September 13th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
This is not an easy question to answer. As has been pointed out already, the term “alternative medicine” is a little ambiguous.
One area that is complicated and favorite stomping ground for CAM (complimentary/alternative medicine) is pain. The problem with treating pain is the the severity of pain is all in the patient’s head, which means it’s highly susceptible to the placebo effect. However, if a person doesn’t hurt anymore because of a placebo or something else, does it really matter? Stopping the pain is the goal.
The problem is that while a doctor will always want to diagnose the cause of a problem and cure it, CAM is pretty sketchy in that area, and even worse at actually curing disease. If crystal therapy makes a headache go away that’s great, but what if the headaches are caused by a brain tumor? The crystal healer won’t find that, but a doctor will. Substituting CAM for real medicine is never a good idea.
Better studies are being conducted concerning alternative treatments, but it goes very slowly. The people who sell them are unwilling to pay for it because they are afraid of the results. Some studies are surprising, for example it was recently discovered that 1g of raw ginger root was good for enhancing anti-emetics and could actually serve as one on it’s own. They worked best when used together though. Studies are being done now to isolate the chemical(s) responsible. It’s likely that ginger will eventually be added to anti nausea medications, of course it won’t actually be ginger, just the chemical in ginger that works.
Basically, search for information on anything you’re considering and see what’s out there. Most of it doesn’t work, sometimes it’s an outright scam, but it’s foolish to say that it all doesn’t work. A good scientist shouldn’t make judgments either way before he has the information.
I recommend searching for good information on Google Scholar. I recommend against sites like curezone, the moderators there ban people for posting information that contradicts the beliefs of the site. Squashing scientific debate is a sure sign you’re not dealing with real medicine.
As for the conspiracy theory, I’ll let someone more eloquent than I make my point.
“The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts. He ascribes all his failure to get on in the world, all of his congenital incapacity and damfoolishness, to the machinations of werewolves assembled in Wall Street, or some other such den of infamy.”
– H. L. Mencken, 1936
September 13th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
There’s a fine line to walk here – more than half of currently-accepted pharmaceuticals had their origin in living tissue. That includes a couple of effective medicines that have been around for generations. One such medicine is Quinine. It comes from the bark of a tree native to South America and is a very effective treatment for the prevention of Malaria. It’s also currently used for mens’ prostate problems…I personally had to use it for a couple of years; my doctor at the VA prescribed it for me.
Another is Digitalis – it’s one of the most effective medicines ever found to treat a disease called “dropsy” in the past, but now known as “congestive heart failure”. It’s a very common disease in older folks.
That does not mean that all herbals offered in “alternative medicine” are safe and effective. It is often said that “It’s natural; it can’t hurt you”. Well, hemlock is natural, too – but one need only consult Socrates to determine whether its naturalness means it’s harmless! (Socrates, a prominent philosopher in the olden days, was executed by being forced to drink a tea made from hemlock) One other major problem is quality control. Digitalis, for instance, comes from the leaves of the Purple foxglove – a really pretty little flower. Trouble is, the amount of active ingredient in leaves near the bottom of the stem is vastly different from the amount in the same size leaves from the top of the stem. You could harvest your own and use them to treat heart failure – that’s actually how they were used when discovered by a physician. But it’s nearly impossible to get a safe, consistent dose day after day using it that way. And does that matter? Yes – too little of the active ingredient and it does nothing for the patient – but too much – and it’s horrifyingly easy to get too much – will kill the patient.
There is really no such thing as “alternative medicine”. There is only medicine which works (and is therefore approved by the FDA) and that which does not work.
Your safest bet? Always see a medical doctor for your medicines…and rest assured that those you can buy without a doctor’s prescription – like aspirin and tylenol – have been very, very thoroughly tested for both safety and effectiveness.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
nope, none at all
September 13th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Yep. I agree with WilliamT and wmayers.
Like any other drug, herbs and herbal extracts CAN be very dangerous. Self-prescribed, self-harvested/prepared herbs (or those compounded by less than scrupulous companies) can be erratic in terms of active ingredient concentration and efficacy. It’s all about proper extraction, standardization and testing – all of which are performed meticulously by reputable companies.
Many of these herbs have been used clinically for hundreds of years, and I’d encourage even the most staunch scientists not to negate clinical experience. Some of them have been studied extensively (unfortunately in smaller scale studies, but with good methodology.) And if your doc is well trained in the pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of the herbs AND the biochemistry/pathophysiology she’s treating, they can be very effective.
Just wanted to also comment regarding someone’s note that there’s more than the “active ingredient” in an herbal extract. That’s true… but it is not a sound leap to extrapolate that the herb is necessarily less effective. Sometimes that’s the case. But sometimes the myriad of chemical constituents are synergistic or have a protective effect.
There’s a lot more to alternative medicine than herbs. There’s physical medicine, orthomolecular medicine, hydrotherapy, and many more which all have their place, clinically. (And are oft used or prescribed by MDs.)
If it works, why is it still called alternative? Partially because there ARE a lot of people out there making outrageous claims as “alternative practitioners.” (Some are well-meaning, but they know only enough to make them dangerous. Some are less well-meaning and out to make a quick buck.) This is why I firmly believe regulation of the field would help the “average Joe” figure out who’s who and understand the training and qualifications.
And it’s partially called alternative because “…it takes much more than logic and clear-cut demonstrations to overcome the inertia and dogma of established thought.” — Irving Stone
September 13th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Hi there..
As more and more doctors who practice conventional medicine learn about complementary therapies, they are realising that a significant number of patients are trying them out. With this in mind, they are integrating both conventional with complementary medicine – with surprisingly good results.
For more information you can just look around at :
http://www.alternativemedicinesecret.com
Hope it can useful for all of you.. 🙂
September 13th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
A relevant news article:
“$2.5 billion spent, no alternative cures found – Big, government-funded studies show most work no better than placebos”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31190909/
“Ten years ago the government set out to test herbal and other alternative health remedies to find the ones that work. After spending $2.5 billion, the disappointing answer seems to be that almost none of them do.”
September 13th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Yes, some of them do work.
I have treated myself with:
5htp for depression after the prescribed antidepressants caused intolerable side effects for me. Been taking 5htp for three years now with no ill effects and no return of the depression.
Rhodiola Rosea – for terrible chronic fatigue a couple of years ago. Took RR for about a year until the problem had resolved. Still occasionally take it if I am feeling very tired, run down.
Acupuncture – have had two sessions in the last 8 days and have stopped smoking after 20 years. I have had no cravings whatsoever.
Passiflora – to help with insomnia
Valerian – to help with insomnia
Fennel Tea – for stomach upsets and abdominal bloatings/cramp.
Ginger for nausea when I was pregnant.
Probiotics to clear up diarrhoea after a bout of food poisoning.
Vitamin B complex for pms
Arnica Gel for joint pain – works as well as the ibuprofen gel without any of the side effects.
Plenty of herbal medicine has undergone – and passed – clinical trials.
and
Don’t forget that modern drugs started their lives as plants – aspirin, hyoscine, digoxin etc.
My GP has yet to help me for any of the problems that I have listed above.