Alternative medicines on the rise
Campus Times
March 19, 1999
Ginseng, aromatherapy, Tai Chi and St. John's Wort are just a few of
the more widely-known terms associated with the ever-growing phenomenon
that is alternative medicine.
Far from being a fad, the practice, also known as complementary medicine,
is used by four out of 10 Americans.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),
which dedicated an entire issue to the topic last November, Americans spent
approximately $27 billion on alternative therapies in 1997.
"People are rediscovering that food is medicine. They're finding
out that they are preventing diseases, but also reversing them," said
Jim Sahouri, owner of the Natural Health Center in Glendora.
However, complementary medicine includes far more than the above-mentioned
terms and certain food products. Acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy,
herbal and even folk medicine are all part of complementary practices.
Why are people using alternative medicine?
"It's cheaper," said University of La Verne graduate student
Wan-Yu Lin, a health administration and gerontology major. Many people,
who cannot afford health insurance choose alternative medicine.
"Another reason is if somebody, for example, has cancer,"
Lin said, "and high tech treatment doesn't work; they might try another
way."
Who are the people who buy herbal medicine and similar products? Sahouri
said the people who shop in his store are "mostly baby boomers."
"There are more women but they shop for their husbands too,"
he said.
"The first thing with complementary medicine is to prevent,"
said Lin.
"With Chinese medicine, most of it you can take like vitamins to
improve your health. But if you want them to be a cure, you may be a little
disappointed because it might not be as effective as you expect," she
said.
Lin, a native of Taiwan, pointed out that what is called alternative
medicine in the western world, the Chinese consider traditional medicine.
Acupuncture, for example, is a key element in traditional Chinese medicine
and is at least 2,500 years old. It is based on the idea that there are
energy patterns called Qi flowing through the body. The balance of this
energy is believed to be essential for one's health. Inserting needles at
key points of the body is supposed to correct imbalances.
Lin remembered an experience in her childhood in Taiwan where her mother
cured her with a, for western minds, rather unusual if not superstitious
healing method.
"In the summer when it's really hot, Chinese people believe we
have the heat inside," she said, "and that there is no way out
and you would be really disturbed and children would get sick."
When Lin got sick from the heat, her mother would take a coin or a spoon
and rub it down the back of her neck, pressing until the skin got red.
It worked; her body cooled down.
"It's just a tradition. Chinese families know this," Lin said.
Tess Sayer, who has been a nurse for over 20 years and works at the
New Age Medical Supply in Covina said, "I trust more in the natural
products because the people in the pharmaceutical industry just copied many
alternative methods [that work]."
According to JAMA, there are some important issues to consider when
one thinks about employing alternative therapies.
One should make sure that there are no harmful side effects and that
there are some benefits when the method or medicine is used correctly. Information
on both should be readily available.
Because complementary medicine is not as well regulated as conventional
western medicine, one should make sure the practitioner in question is competent
and qualified.
Potential patients should make sure service and safety are up to the
required medical standards and, if necessary, inquire with a local regulatory
agency or health care consumer organization.
A physician needs to know if a patient uses any alternative methods
to be able to conduct a more efficient treatment and to make sure there
are no medication interactions.
Ultimately, and probably most importantly, one should get information
about the costs. Many complementary therapies are not covered by health
insurance.
Cindy Denne, director of health services at the University, said the
Health Center does not prescribe alternative medicine, nor is it sending
students to, for example, chiropractors.
"That does not mean that we won't do it in the future, but from
what we are doing right now and from what we've done in the past, it's pretty
much traditional medicine only," she said.
Denne said the Health Center does whatever is in the best interest of
the patients.
In the future, that might not rule out complementary practices.
"Medicine is changing so dramatically," Denne said. "Using
alternative medicine is becoming more respected and well thought of."
