Alternative medicine- what is the truth?

Alternative medicine has always created controversy whether it is homeopathy, aryuveda or accupuncture. Tomes have been written and lots of research carried out to demonstrate the efficacy, or lack of, of these treatments. Medical professionals trained in the western methods routinely deride alternative medicine as placebos and mumbo jumbo pills. But what it the real truth?

The fact is that anecdotal envidence goes heavily against the medical professionals. Take my own case. 

I was always a sceptic of alternative medicine till my two year old son got "bleeding eczema", a particularly painful skin disease. We tried all the western remedies without any avail till one day our pediatrist advised us to go to a homeopath for a perment cure. So we went to the preeminent practioner of homeopathy in India at that time, Dr Jugal Kishore. He took a long hard look at the skin blisters and prescribed a range of pills to be taken at very specific times. How heavily diluted pills taken at very specific times could lead to a cure is beyond my ability to decipher, but the fact was that the skin was cured and eczema has never come back.

So what is homeopathy? Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine originated in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann, based on his doctrine of similia similibus curentur ("like cures like"), according to which a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick people. Hahnemann believed that the underlying cause of disease were phenomena that he termed miasms, and that homeopathic remedies addressed these. The remedies are prepared by repeatedly diluting a chosen substance in alcohol or distilled water, followed by forceful striking on an elastic body, called succussion. Each dilution followed by succussion is said to increase the remedy's potency. Dilution sometimes continues well past the point where none of the original substance remains. Homeopaths select remedies by consulting reference books known as repertories, considering the totality of the patient's symptoms as well as the patient's personal traits, physical and psychological state, and life history. The low concentration of homeopathic remedies, which often lack even a single molecule of the diluted substance, has been the basis of questions about the effects of the remedies since the 19th century. Modern advocates of homeopathy have suggested that "water has a memory" – that during mixing and succussion, the substance leaves an enduring effect on the water, perhaps a "vibration", and this produces an effect on the patient. This notion has no scientific support. Pharmacological research has found instead that stronger effects of an active ingredient come from higher, not lower doses. Homeopathic remedies are derived from substances that come from plants, minerals, or animals, such as red onion, arnica (mountain herb), crushed whole bees, white arsenic, poison ivy, belladonna (deadly nightshade), and stinging nettle. Homeopathic remedies are often formulated as sugar pellets to be placed under the tongue; they may also be in other forms, such as ointments, gels, drops, creams, and tablets. Treatments are “individualized” or tailored to each person—it is not uncommon for different people with the same condition to receive different treatments.

But scientific research has found homeopathic remedies ineffective and their postulated mechanisms of action implausible. A large portion of the scientific community regards homeopathy as a sham; the American Medical Association considers homeopathy to be quackery, and homeopathic remedies have been criticized as unethical.

Despite this scepticism, according to recent surveys in France, an astounding 40% of the French public have used homeopathic medicines, and 39% of French physicians have prescribed them. At least six French medical schools offer courses leading to a degree in homeopathy, and homeopathy is taught in all pharmacy schools and in four veterinary schools. 42% of British physicians surveyed refer patients to homeopathic physicians. Another survey of British physicians discovered that 80% of recent graduates wanted training in either homeopathy, acupuncture, or hypnosis. One respected author estimated that 20% of German physicians use homeopathic medicines occasionally. At present, the most popular hay fever remedy in Germany is a homeopathic medicine, and other homeopathic medicines for the common cold, sore throats, and circulatory problems are in the top ten of their respective categories. According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey in the US, an estimated 3.9 million adults and 910,000 children used homeopathy in the previous year. These estimates include use of over-the-counter products labeled as “homeopathic,” as well as visits with a homeopathic practitioner. Out-of-pocket costs for adults were $2.9 billion for homeopathic medicines and $170 million for visits to homeopathic practitioners. 

So what is one to believe?

Many years later I was stricken with shingles a particularly painful disease. While the disease itself was cured in a few months , really with little help from western medicine, it left painful aftereffects due to nerve damage. We tried a range of western medicines to try and cure the nerve damage with little effect - actually some of these medicines had side effects which were often worse than the pain.After much prodding by my wife and daughter I reluctantly agreed to go an accupuncturist. She was a chinese doctor trained in Beijing and declared that accupuncture could certainly cure this nerve pain through a two or three month regime. So we started the cure and sure enough after three weeks there was perceptile improvement. 

As we know acupuncture is an alternative medicine methodology originating in ancient China that treats patients by manipulating thin, solid needles that have been inserted into acupuncture points in the skin. According to traditional Chinese medicine, stimulating these points can correct imbalances in the flow of qi through channels known as meridians. The general theory of acupuncture is based on the premise that bodily functions are regulated by an energy called qi which flows through the body; disruptions of this flow are believed to be responsible for disease. Acupuncture describes a family of procedures aiming to correct imbalances in the flow of qi by stimulation of anatomical locations on or under the skin (usually called acupuncture points or acupoints), by a variety of techniques.The most common mechanism of stimulation of acupuncture points employs penetration of the skin by thin metal needles, which are manipulated manually or by electrical stimulation. 

But current scientific research has not found any histological or physiological correlates for qi, meridians and acupuncture points. Other reviews have concluded that positive results reported for acupuncture are too small to be of clinical relevance and may be the result of inadequate experimental blinding, or can be explained by placebo effects and publication bias. The fact is that the invasiveness of acupuncture makes it difficult to design an experiment that adequately controls for placebo effects.

So faced with this welter of facts and counter claims what is one to do? Here is where I come out after my limited experience with alternate medicine:

• Despite massive research, the verdict on alternate medicine is at best mixed

• Always remember that your affliction is yours alone and unique and only you can decide how to proceed to handle and conquer it.

• If conventional medicine has not provided you with a cure, be willing to experiment with alternative medicine. But in doing so, always seek out the most prominent and reliable practitioner you can find and be aware of its negative side effects.