holistic/ alternative medicine and remedies?

[diapason05]

I like that nursing seems to be about taking care of the WHOLE person.

I was wondering what you guys thought about alternative therapies (chinese medicine, acupuncture etc.)

And naturopathic doctors? (NDs).. When I say NDs I mean the ones who graduate from Bastyr or someplace (bastyr.edu)

I personally don't take very many meds (synthroid for my thyroid- soon to be switched to Amour and birth control- which i hate!)

I am of the (albiet somewhat uneducated) opinion that too many people are on prescription drugs that just treat their symtoms but don't help to address an underlying CAUSE. I understand that may be sometimes necessary (like strong pain pills after a surgery), but I think sometimes people are on so many medications that the side effects outweigh some of the benefits. (like my grandma taking meds to help one thing, only to have to take meds to alleviate the symtoms caused by med #1!)

I get those cold sores on my mouth.. herpes, ok. and i just put some vaseline on when i feel one and it GOES AWAY. I remember telling my NP that and she said she knew... hmm.

So I asked her why no one tells people these kinds of things, and instead start trying to prescribe expensive drugs that half the time don't work and she said "well, we can't tell you that."

I also had ringworm one time and no amount of the prescribed oinment was working. I went to a natural foods store.., bought some anti-fungal stuff and the ringworm was gone in a few days.

Do you guys believe that sometimes there ARE natural remedies out there or that "natural" type remedies are just quackery.

[EmmaG, RN]

Of course there are 'natural' remedies that work. I think a big problem is that many people think 'natural' equates to 'safe' with no untoward effects. Any substance that alters body function or chemistry is exerting an effect, be it good or bad. One reason for nurses and docs to be careful to determine all substances a patient is taking, not just prescription and OTC medications.

It's a very interesting topic. Just read up on what they're discovering about garlic, for example. Fascinating stuff.

[MiaLyse, APRN]

Yes, I believe in alternative medicine/remedies as I sit here with a zinc lozenge to hopefully reduce the length of my current cold, lol.

I think people tend to go to extremes, all or nothing when, in fact, modern medicine along with holistic/alternative medicine can and should be used together as appropriate. jmo

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

I have a friend who has a dual degree in naturopathy & Chinese medicine. So much of what she passes along to me has merit.

There has to be something to natural medicine or the human race would never have survived before 'modern' or 'Western' medicine. And, many many things that we consider 'modern' have their derivative in nature. Examples: aspirin's derivative is made from the bark of the willow tree, and the paralytics (or whatever the term is, ICU ain't my specialty!) such as vecuronium and pancuronium used for vented patients are based on curare, the poison secreted by the arrow poison frog.

In my field, we sometimes have moms use the herb fenugreek to increase their breast milk supply if they are having trouble producing.

To be sure, there is some quackery out there, just as there are people who can cut your grass and know what they're doing and other people who haven't a clue. It's just a given that there are going to be people wanting to make a quick fraudulent buck. But so-called 'alternative' medicines often have their place and often don't hurt.

Some caveats: some people thing natural = safe, which is not so. Rattlesnakes are natural, orificenic is natural, you get the idea. And some people think that natural meds aren't meds and therefore they don't include those when you ask them if they're taking any medications.

Most naturopaths will tell you that modern medicine has its place; if you have a broken bone, you need to have a cast. But they might also suggest acupuncture to help with pain, or to speed up the healing time, or whatever.

Just a few ramblings.

[Jabramac]

This is a very interesting topic. For a long time I have been interested in the idea of becoming a homeopathic practitioner and combining the nursing back ground. That idea changed for me when I did some camp nursing and had a few kids on homeopathic meds. I had once child with seizures who took 15 different homeopathic vitamins, suppliments, and herbs daily. Some of them completely unidentifiable as the labels were entirely in Chinese. I spoke with the family who believed these were all completely safe, much safer then modern medications. How can they be so safe when you cant identify them? And even some that had labels the ingredients were so random and unknown, how can you know they are safe? And to top it off, this child still had 2-3 seizures per week! Doesn't seem like the treatments were working. I had another child with strep throught. The parents okayed prescribed antibiotics, but sympotmatic treatment was to be homeopathic with his own herbs from home. I felt bad for the kid because the homeopathic meds did nothing for his fever and discomfort, and I had stocks of tylenol sitting there that I know help and are pretty safe.

What I did enjoy, though, was treating kids with colds and common ailments with homeopathic remedies like various tea's, tiger balm, guided imagery, and massage. This was supplimented with tylenol, advil, decongetants, and cough med/drops as well.

I think there is a place for homeopathic remedies, but they are not necessarily any safer or more effective then modern, researched, tested, and regulated medications.

[beachmom]

Garlic oil works for earaches. My son had allergies so lots of nasal congestion and earaches. I would get the garlic pills with the garlic oil inside, squeeze the oil into the affected ear and toss the capsule. It worked every time.

I tried it on myself once when I had an earache. It worked quickly. It does stink, but that's better than spending the time and money on a doctor and antibiotics.

I usually try the natural stuff first. If it doesn't work, I go to the doctor. I've never found echinacea to work for sore throats. It seems like zinc and vit C shorten my colds, but it's hard to determine how long the cold would have lasted without supplements.

I tried the natural stuff to lower my cholesterol, and it didn't work. Now I'm on Lipitor.

I wish the health care system would really study what works and what doesn't work and prescribe based on that, not what the drug companies come up with.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Garlic oil works for earaches. My son had allergies so lots of nasal congestion and earaches. I would get the garlic pills with the garlic oil inside, squeeze the oil into the affected ear and toss the capsule. It worked every time.

I tried it on myself once when I had an earache. It worked quickly. It does stink, but that's better than spending the time and money on a doctor and antibiotics.

I usually try the natural stuff first. If it doesn't work, I go to the doctor. I've never found echinacea to work for sore throats. It seems like zinc and vit C shorten my colds, but it's hard to determine how long the cold would have lasted without supplements.

I tried the natural stuff to lower my cholesterol, and it didn't work. Now I'm on Lipitor.

I wish the health care system would really study what works and what doesn't work and prescribe based on that, not what the drug companies come up with.

I'm not surprised that garlic works for earaches. It has natural antibiotic & antiviral properties.

And I TOTALLY agree with you on the last paragraph. So much of our field is based on studies funded by.....drum roll.....drug companies.

[Sabby_NC]

Good thread.

I agree that natural remedies work well with modern medicine. Just need to ensure that the meds/ remedies are compatible. :)