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    Category Archives: Complementary and Alternative medicine

    By Boris Dzhingarov in Advertisement, Complementary and Alternative medicine

    The Greatest Advantages of Using Natural Remedies

    December 27, 2016

    In case you are sick and tired of using prescription medications for a long time because they are not very efficient, expensive and can lead to side effects, you should consider the use of natural remedies. These remedies can be used for literally any type of health problems. In addition to the fact that the vast majority of these remedies are based on natural herbs and plants, the majority of these treatments are inexpensive and most of the ingredients used in them are already found in modern households. If you are still not sure why so many people nowadays use natural remedies, we will analyze a few advantages of using natural remedies.

    A chance to solve your health issues naturally

    If you make a brief research, you will notice that the majority of prescription medications are synthetic and include substances and compounds that are very bad for the body in general. In other words, they can help you with one thing, but they can bring many other problems to other systems and organs. There are situations where prescription medications have led to brain cell malfunctioning. Additionally, there are cases when they have triggered allergies, breathing difficulties and many other unpleasant and serious side effects. Thanks to natural remedies, you will be able to support your body’s ability to heal itself. You will solve your health issues and instead of experiencing side effects you will actually improve your health in general.

    Ingredients used for hundreds of years

    Those who have analyzed the substances found in natural remedies have noticed that the active ingredients in them are usually well-known organic plants, herbs and even vegetables and fruits. Finding and using these ingredients is simple, inexpensive and as we said before, they can help with a wide range of illnesses. These ingredients are sometimes used raw, but there are cases when they have to be boiled or cooked or mixed with essential oils.

    Support a healthy lifestyle

    People who are using natural remedies instead of prescription medications are probably already following a healthy lifestyle. They are using websites like this one here to make sure that their lifestyle makes them healthy. These people are exercising on a regular basis, trying to reduce their fat and alcohol and tobacco intake. Let’s be clear, using natural remedies doesn’t mean that you will heal yourself quickly, but by implementing more elements of healthy living, you will definitely accelerate this process.

    Natural remedies and folk medicine

    In case you take a close look at the folk medicine in some of the oldest countries in the world like India and China, you will find that they have used natural remedies to treat a myriad of illnesses for centuries now. As a matter of fact, the majority of these natural remedies presented today are based on these ancient remedies and practices. These therapies have proven to be effective in the past, so there is no reason why they shouldn’t be effective today.

    Inexpensive

    Experts agree that the average price of pharmaceutical prescription drugs is increasing every year. By buying these drugs you are supporting the Big Pharma and its efforts to boost profit. In case you want to save some money and get similar effects, you can always count on natural remedies.

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    By Debra Lewis in Advertisement, Complementary and Alternative medicine

    Protecting Your Family from Sickness this Fall and Winter

    October 5, 2015

    As the weather gets colder, it’s really tempting to stay indoors cooped up in bed or next to the heater. But if you’re really serious about protecting you family from sickness this fall and winter, there are better ways to fight the flu. While traditional medicine has little to offer in the way of treating common winter ailments, you can still find relief with vitamins and herbs. Even simple things like washing your hands regularly can have a dramatic effect on the spread of cold and flu. Keeping your family safe and secure and avoiding any issues is an important way to maintain your overall health.

    1)   Wash Your Hands
    Hand Washing

    Image via Flickr by UGA College of Ag and Environmental Sciences

    Many cold and flu germs are spread by contact with surfaces or objects that people frequently touch, such as doorknobs, public transport, or even the photocopier at work. The easiest way to prevent these germs from spreading is to wash your hands every time you come into contact with anything that others often touch. In fact, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, simple hand washing with soap and cold running water reduces the risk of catching a cold by up to 21 percent.

    2) Boost Your Vitamin Intake

    Vitamins have always been nature’s way of helping us to fight germs, and they are still effective. Despite recent studies showing a weak link between Vitamin C and cold prevention, eating Vitamin C rich foods such as oranges, red peppers, broccoli and kale is still a good way to reduce the severity and duration of a cold. One of the best defence mechanisms is Vitamin D from regular exposure to the sun, which, according to studies, can cut the risk of flu by up to 50%. So if there isn’t much sunlight where you live, consider boosting your Vitamin D intake with supplements.

    3) Try Herbal Medicines

    Herbs are some of the best remedies around for fighting the symptoms of colds and flu. Anti-viral herbs such as elderberry, astragalus, reishi, and lomatium are a great way to fight flu. The best way to increase your herb intake is to drink herbal tea. Green, lemon, echinacea, and peppermint teas are all popular winter drinks which have many health benefits, such as cleansing the body of toxins and boosting the immune system. Don’t overload your tea with sugar, as sugar reduces the effectiveness of herbal tea. Instead, add some lemon, honey, or garlic for extra effect.  You may need hiatal hernia pain relief.

    4) Protect Yourself With the Flu Vaccine

    The flu vaccine is an effective way to avoid the flu during the winter months. According to Flu.gov, a flu vaccine shot reduces your chances of serious illness due to three common strains of flu by around 60%, and is particularly advisable for people who are at a high risk from complications from the flu, like seniors, pregnant women, and people with existing medical conditions. The Food and Drug Administration carefully monitors flu vaccines, and they have a good track record for safety.

    When it comes to avoiding winter sickness, prevention is the best cure. But when something does strike, you can always get advice online from a qualified health professional at Curely.

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    By Scott Thomas in Advertisement, Complementary and Alternative medicine, Food

    Natural Rehab in Your Kitchen

    February 27, 2015

    Looking for way to enhance your route through recovery? One important aspect in any treatment regimen is rebuilding the body back to optimal health. There are simple at home remedies that aid in naturally detoxing your body and regaining one’s health after addiction.

    Infographic juicing

    Non 12-Step Drug Rehabs

    You will need decent airtight containers in your kitchen

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    By Scott Thomas in Advertisement, Complementary and Alternative medicine

    Getting More ZZZs: The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Health

    December 20, 2014

    You may think that missing a night’s sleep can be solved with an extra cup of coffee – it can’t. Poor sleep has been linked to high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), heart failure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and obesity. Ouch. Time to get a little shut eye. Here’s how.

    Health Problems Galore

    What can possibly go wrong if you don’t get enough sleep? Plenty. For starters, you can develop serious health problems that start with elevated cortisol levels. Cortisol is the body’s primary stress hormone. And, chronically elevated cortisol levels are correlated with numerous health issues, including chronic fatigue, weight gain, heart problems, and even diabetes. In fact, if you deprive yourself of enough sleep, you could die.

    Fix Your Diet

    Step one is to fix your diet. Be honest. How healthy are you? In a world full of contradictory scientific studies, it can be hard to truly eat right and exercise. But, if you’re doing advanced diagnostics, like those through WellnessFX, you can get a good idea of where you – personally – are at.

    An ALCAT or LEAP MRT can further increase your knowledge about which foods are healthy for you, and which ones are causing delayed hypersensitivities and chronic inflammation. Finally, a SpectraCell micronutrient test can assess your micronutrient status.

    From there, you can make meaningful changes to your diet, correct nutritional deficiencies, and live a healthier life. What will this do for you? It’ll help you get better sleep, which will (in turn) help you feel better during the day.

    Turn Off Electronics At Night

    One of the most insidious devices to have by your bedside at night is an iPhone or Android device. Yet, people use these things right up until it’s bedtime. The blue light emitted by all electronics, however, is keeping you up by depressing beneficial levels of a hormone called “melatonin.”  Solution? Turn off the electronics or at the very least get yourself a pair of blue-blocker protective glasses that block blue light completely and use them every night.

    Get Help With Chronic Pain, Sleep Better

    If you’re in chronic pain, it’s much harder to get a good night’s sleep. Thousands of people suffer with back pain every day, and many people don’t realize that many of these problems can be solved with a quick trip to the chiropractor.

    For example, Good Life Chiropractic is an excellent Chiropractor in Campbell CA that offers both traditional chiropractic care as well as massage therapy. All that cracking, popping, and massaging will help calm you down and make it so much easier for you to fall asleep at night.

    If you’ve never been to a chiropractor before, here’s what to expect: most chiropractors are decent folks who are focused on conservative care. They want to assess your current health state and then use the least amount of treatment that’s necessary to solve the problems you’re experiencing. In some cases, this means performing an adjustment on your neck, back, or some other joint. In other cases, however, it involves simple muscle stimulation or an advanced form of deep tissue massage called “active release technique.”

    Still other chiropractors partner with licensed massage therapists to help clients through pain and discomfort.

    Get To Bed Earlier

    It’s almost impossible for most people to get up earlier, and this doesn’t really solve the problem of getting more sleep. So, the natural solution is to get to bed earlier. Set an alarm for bed just like you set an alarm to wake up in the morning. Make it incredibly annoying so that you’ll pay attention to it, too.

    Create a Spa-Like Environment In Your Bedroom

    It’s time to turn down the lights, play some soothing music, light a candle or two, and talk to your significant other. This is wind-down time, and it’s essential to “slip” into sleep. You don’t want to be engaged in any intense activities (including watching movies or playing games) right before bed. Why not? Because activating your brain makes it harder to relax and settle down, and this is exactly what you need to be doing when you want to get a good night’s sleep.

    It might also help to start a bedtime diary. Write down all of the things you accomplished today, all of the things you’re proud of, and all of the things you want to accomplish tomorrow. Not only does this help your brain by “dumping” cognitive contents, it helps you feel better at the end of the day – exactly when you need it.

    Get in the habit of doing these things, and you should notice your sleep improve, as well as your mood and performance when you’re awake.

    Dr. Manfred Alkhas M.Div., D.C. (Chiropractor Campbell CA) is the primary treatment doctor at Good Life Chiropractic, which he founded in 1992. Dr. Alkhas graduated from Palmer-West Chiropractic College in 1990, and he completed his undergraduate studies at San Jose State University. He earned his Masters of Divinity (with honors) in 2006. Dr. Alkhas is an active member of the California Chiropractic Association, as well as the National Health Bureau. He has guided other Chiropractors in starting their own practices.

    Image credits: wikimedia.org

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    By Thomas Ferguson in Access to treatment, Advertisement, Complementary and Alternative medicine

    Behind the Cost of NHS Prescriptions

    June 20, 2013

    Prescriptions in the UK have always come at a price. That is, unless you fit into one of only a few specific exemption categories; you are under 16, for example, or are in receipt of income related benefits. Some locations in the UK also offer free prescriptions as standard, however England is not one of these.

    Each prescribed item costs £7.85 – this is a 20p increase on the previous charge of £7.65, which came into force on the 1st of April, 2013. Individuals also have the option of purchasing a pre-payment certificate (PPC) which entitles you to free prescriptions for either 3 months or a year.

    Worries About Rising Prescription Costs

    Because of the nature and structure of prescription payments in the UK, most people will have access to the medicines they need. However many people don’t understand where their prescription payments go; how they are used, or why they are levied. And many have expressed concerned about rising prescription costs, with the worry that those people suffering from long term health problems may find that increased costs impact their both their health and lifestyle. Organisation such as the British Heart Foundation are therefore committed to campaigning for free prescriptions for all individuals in the UK who have long term health needs – something which was promised by the Labour government back in 2008.

    A Free Health Service For All

    When it was founded in 1948, the NHS was meant to ensure that everyone in the UK received free health care, however the first prescription charges were levied not much later, in 1952. Charges rose for the first time under the Thatcher government, which doubled the cost from 20p to 45p, and they’ve continued to rise every year since then, except in 1997 when Labour reduced them by 10p.

    The exemption system has been heavily criticised since inception, particularly because it fails to consider all individual circumstances. For example; well-off pensioners are exempt, whilst poor working families are not. In addition, the actual costs of administering prescription charges is actually so high that some believe it would be financially prudent to simply do away with charges altogether.

    What Are the Alternatives to Prescriptions?

    There are alternatives available for those people who do not, or cannot, pay for costly prescription charges. These usually take the form of alternative supplements like Indigo Herbs. Many alternative supplements have been shown to be both effective and cost effective, although it’s always best to check with your healthcare provider before using alternative treatments to treat persistent or life threatening health problems. The costs of alternative treatments vary, but many can be bought in bulk, thereby significantly reducing their cost.

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    By Alex McMahon in Complementary and Alternative medicine

    The Case Against Homeopathy

    April 10, 2013

    Dr Alex McMahon argues homeopathy is flying in the face of science, spending precious resources, undermining the principles of the NHS, and doing more harm than good to those most in need.

    Samuel Hahnemann, who invented homeopathy, probably meant well when he devised his idea for the ailments of humanity at the end of the 18th century. Most people have heard of the ‘like cures like’ idea, and may be sympathetic. Most people probably know that homeopaths dilute their treatments to such a degree that there is not a single molecule of the original material left: and then turned into pills. This is not ‘like cures like’. Hahnemann himself, if he was here to defend himself, may well argue that he was trying to be scientific and improve on dreadful treatments like bloodletting and purging that were common in his day. At the turn of the 19th century it may well have been a dangerous gamble to visit a physician: cure or kill.

    Unfortunately Hahnemann extrapolated his theory from a single experiment. He fell prey to the logical fallacy known as ‘induction’. This problem was mainly mooted by David Hume around 1748. Although the lives of Hahnemann and Hume overlapped by around 20 years, this particular medical problem was only really solved in the 20th century by the devising of the Randomised Controlled Trial (see the James Lind library1 for the history of fair testing of treatments).

    Homeopaths often justify dilution with the notion that it equates to greater potency of their treatment. In this case it would be dangerous to go for a swim in the sea. Sceptics often stage mass suicide attempts by overdosing on homeopathic medicines to mock this idea. On the plus side, homeopathic treatments will be entirely free from side-effects. Having said that, you would have to be wary of homeopathic plutonium, although diluted arsenic seems safe. 2

    Homeopaths could easily test their treatments in Randomised Controlled Trials, which are occasional positive but mostly unconvincing due to a lack of vigour. 3 Unfortunately, although there are fortunes to be made in the High Street from untested homeopathic medicines, there is no motive to subject these treatments to formal testing as there is very little regulation. This is in sharp contrast to the punitive levels of regulation for pharmacologically active medicines. 4

    But is any harm done by this inoffensive quackery? The NHS provides expensive homeopathic hospitals and prescriptions. This money could be better spent. We are also undermining medical research and science in people’s minds. Many people argue that it is only a placebo. Placebos are deception. It is not widely known that the so-called ‘placebo effect’ is hotly disputed 5 and is in fact a natural consequence of the phenomenon known as ‘regression to the mean’ where patients’ symptoms get better simply due to the passing of time. 6 By displacing real medicine and health care, the NHS has to pay twice due to any subsequent harm caused by the delay in treatment. There are dangerous parallels to the anti-vaccination movement in both the developed and developing worlds. Misplaced middle-class concerns with the scientific method ultimately undermine the concept of universalism and institutions that help the poor and those with the greatest need.

    1 http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/
    2  David Shaw. Homeopathy and medical ethics. Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies 2011; 16; 1: 17-21.
    3 Shang A, Huwiler-Müntener K, Nartey L, Jüni P, Dörig S, Sterne JA, Pewsner D, Egger M. Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy.Lancet2005; 366:726-32.
    4 McMahon AD, Conway DI, MacDonald TM, McInnes GT.The Unintended Consequences of Clinical Trials Regulations.PLoS Medicine 2009; 6; 11: e1000131.
    5 Hróbjartsson A, Gøtzsche PC. Is the placebo powerless? Update of a systematic review with 52 new randomized trials comparing placebo with no treatment.Journal of Internal Medicine 2004; 256; 2:91-100.
    6  Bland JM, Altman DG. Some examples of regression towards the mean. British Medical Journal 1994; 309: 780.

    Dr Alex D McMahon is Reader in Epidemiology, University of Glasgow

    From Healthier Scotland: the Journal

    SHA and homeopathy

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    By Susan McAllion in Complementary and Alternative medicine

    The Case for Homeopathy

    April 10, 2013

    Dr Susan McAllion makes the case for homeopathy in the NHS

    Scotland has a long and happy association with homeopathy. In 1880 a dispensary was opened which gave free treatment to the poor. The first homeopathic hospital in Glasgow opened in 1914 and after several moves it is now located on the Gartnavel site.

    There are also homeopathic hospitals in London and Bristol and all three hospitals have been part of the NHS since it began in 1948.The hospitals and NHS clinics (of which there are several in Scotland) treat tens of thousands of patients per year who are referred by GPs, PCTs and NHS specialists.

    Four of five major comprehensive reviews of RCTs in homeopathy have reached broadly positive conclusions.1-4 Based on a smaller selection of trials, a fifth review came to a negative conclusion about homeopathy.5 In 2005, the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital carried out the largest service evaluation of homeopathic treatment so far, which reported that 70% of 6,500 follow-up patients experienced improvement in their health. Many had tried conventional treatment first without success.

    The most recent hospitals outcome study confirms the positive findings of earlier studies. A total of 1,602 patients were seen at follow-up appointments in UK NHS homeopathic hospitals during one month in 2007. The study found that eczema is currently the most common referral to homeopathy by NHS doctors. Other commonly treated complaints were chronic fatigue, menopausal disorder and osteoarthritis.

    In the UK there are over 400 GPs practising homeopathy who are regulated by the GMC and are members of the Faculty of Homeopathy. They treat around 200,000 NHS patients per year with homeopathy. Homeopathic medicines are very safe .The vast majority of adverse effects reported in clinical trials were temporary aggravations of symptoms or other mild and transient effects. Homeopathic remedies are cheap. The available evidence suggests that homeopathy has the potential to generate savings through reduced conventional prescribing and demand for other services.

    In France, where homeopathy is an integral part of the healthcare system, a government report showed that the total cost of care per patient receiving homeopathic treatment was 15% less than the cost of treatment provided by conventional physicians.

    Homeopathy doesn’t interfere with conventional medicine and should be seen as a complementary treatment, not as an alternative. In fact, homeopathic and conventional treatments can work very well alongside each other. This approach also gives patients more treatment choices. NHS homeopathic doctors are medically trained as well as being members of the Faculty of Homeopathy. They are statutorily registered with the General Medical Council . They are bound to act within the competence of their profession and their level of training and qualifications in homeopathy.

    Homeopathy has been under attack from a small number of scientists and science journalists. Unfortunately this has resulted in a polarisation of views on the subject.

    One criticism is that the effect of high dilutions is implausible with no basis in real science. There is an increasing amount of laboratory research that is extending our understanding of how such dilutions work and scientists have admitted surprise at their own findings. To summarise, homeopathy is a safe, cost effective complementary therapy which should be available to all in the NHS.

    Dr Susan McAllion is a retired NHS homeopathic doctor and a past Treasurer of SHA Scotland.

    References

    1. Kleijnen J, Knipschild P, ter Riet G. Clinical trials of homeopathy. Br Med J 1991; 302: 316–23.
    2. Linde K, Clausius N, Ramirez G, et al. Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials. Lancet 1997; 350: 834–43.
    3. Linde K, Scholz M, Ramirez G, et al. Impact of study quality on outcome in placebo controlled trials of homeopathy. J Clin Epidemiol 1999; 52: 631–6.
    4. Cucherat M, Haugh MC, Gooch M, Boissel JP. Evidence of clinical efficacy of homeopathy – A meta-analysis of clinical trials. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 2000; 56: 27–33.
    5. Shang A, Huwiler-Muntener K, Nartey L, et al. Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy.
    Lancet 2005; 366: 726–32.

    From Healthier Scotland: the Journal

    SHA and homeopathy

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    By Boris Dzhingarov in Advertisement, Complementary and Alternative medicine

    Scientifically Proven Acupuncture Benefits

    October 18, 2014

    Nowadays, there is an increase in the number of doctors that prescribe acupuncture. Although this is still rare because most doctors are not aware of the science that proves the benefits of acupuncture, it is great to see.

    It is a guarantee you want to learn more about acupuncture and the associated health benefits. Here are some that were highlighted by Health Annotation and that you will surely find as being quite impressive.

    Back Pain Is Eased

    Most people hire an acupuncturist because they suffer from back pain. Acupuncture will help in relieving chronic back pain. There was a study that was published in Archives Of Internal Medicine that showed that there is an improvement of around 15% in symptoms when compared with those that went through standard chiropractic care or took medication.

    Medication Efficiency Is Increased

    It was proven that acupressure helps heal high blood pressure and it can so easily improve medication efficiency. When you use acupuncture and take some drugs, you may end up with more help than just with medication. In many situations patients are able to cut doses and just add acupuncture sessions.

    Indigestion Is Soothed

    Research done in Brazil highlighted that indigestion was alleviated with the use of acupuncture, together with heartburn noticed in pregnant women. It was proven that 75% of pregnant women that used acupuncture had improved symptoms.

    Headaches

    This is one of the huge advantages that are associated with the use of acupuncture. It was proven many times that acupuncture therapy helps patients deal with migraines, tension headaches and much more. It is even effective at preventing migraines and tension headaches. In the event that you are suffering from headaches, you do want to see an acupuncture specialist.

    Ending Obesity

    We all know the fact that a person can lose weight with simple lifestyle changes but when dealing with obesity, everything is far more complicated. We do not have access to many studies that were conducted on patients that were suffering from obesity and that used acupuncture as an alternative treatment option.

    We saw great results in some studies that were carried out in Korea and acupuncture therapy brought in increased body weight decreases when compared with medications and even lifestyle changes. Unfortunately, there are some flaws in the studies and long term benefits are not properly documented.

    Conclusions

    On the whole, there are so many acupuncture benefits that we have to take into account. We are faced with so many interesting options that are currently available and hiring a professional can so easily lead towards various improvements in overall health.

    You should learn all that you can about acupuncture. It is definitely an alternative medicine form that is not properly understood. You can improve your health and this is definitely something you want to consider. Make sure that you always do all that you can in order to find a therapist that has a lot of experience. There are no real certified classes that an acupuncturist should go through. With this in mind, it is vital that you find one that has suitable experience.

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    By johnkapp in Complementary and Alternative medicine, Mental Health

    Community Meditation Centres

    August 20, 2014

    The crisis in mental health has been long foretold, as I heard these problems from 2007-12 when I sat as a patient representative on committees such as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), and Listen to the Voice of Experience (LIVE) The report in 2012 by the London School of Economics said that 750,000 mental sick patients are untreated.

    In 2009, I envisioned community mediation centres as a solution, and in 2010 I founded SECTCo (Social Enterprise Complementary Therapy Company) to contract with commissioners to provide meditation courses in Brighton and Hove. This paper sets out a summary of my vision.

    To solve any problem, one has to discover the cause, and remove it. The cause of the crisis in the mental health service is antidepressants, which are doing more harm than good. They are supposed to be taken for just a few weeks to ease your symptoms while you reduce stress, but are addictive, so patients end up taking them for life. They do not even claim to be effective in healing or curing your mental sickness, and create side effects which make you keep coming back, gridlocking the primary care system.

    In 2006 the government identified a solution – IAPT- which was supposed to ‘end the Prozac nation’, with one to one Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) but IAPT hasn’t worked hitherto because CBT only works for about 1 in 10 patients, confirming paragraph 7 of the above article. With nothing else to give patients, antidepressant prescribing has since nearly doubled from 30 -54 m monthly prescriptions pa. Primary care is overwhelmed because the number of patients on antidepressants has doubled from 2 to over 4 million.

    The solution is to get them all off antidepressants, by making IAPT work through ‘medication to meditation’. The talking treatment of choice should be changed from CBT to the NICE-recommended Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) 8 week course, which is 100 times more cost effective. This is because MBCT is effective in 2 out of 3 patients, and one MBCT facilitator and an assistant can ‘hold the space’ for 15 patients, all of whom get a good healing experience, learn self care, and receive peer support from other patients. There are no contra-indications, and MBCT courses can prevent and treat any mental sickness. It is clinically indicated to anyone with depression or anxiety, and should not be limited to only those who have had 3 previous bouts of depression. This was the entry requirement for the original trial in 2002 which got it NICE recommendation, because it showed that it halves the 5 year relapse rate, but it has since been shown effective for any addiction.

    The solution is therefore for IAPT to adopt the MBCT course as the core talking therapy in place of  CBT. Of course, funding is needed  but this should be provided by diverting funds from the prescribing budget, starting with antidepressants. This reaps the double benefit of providing an effective remedy, and saving adverse drug reactions from side effects.

    The solution is to create a system whereby GPs can prescribe NICE-recommended MBCT courses as easily as Prozac by voucher, which patients can cash for a course at meditation centres near each surgery within a few weeks, as described below.

    SECTCo’s experience running enhanced sandwich MBCT courses for donations in Hove

    I created SECTCo to facilitate MBCT 10 week courses, and have run 15 to date for donations for about 200 people who started and 100 who completed the course. Since the beginning of 2013 I have run them at a shop at 3, Boundary Rd Hove, BN3 4EH, assisted by former clients. We are presently open 2 days per week (Tuesdays and Thursdays), from 8am -5pm, totaling 26 hours per week.

    We have bid for public funding unsuccessfully, but if we were sufficiently funded, we could be open for 7 days per week from 8am to 930pm, totaling 94 hours per week. We provide a structure of drop in meditations around a core of the NICE-recommended MBCT course, supported by what we call the ‘enhanced sandwich’ MBCT course, under the following regime:

    0800-0900 Dynamic meditation every day of the week.

    0930-12 00 MBCT course on Tuesdays, with a MBCT facilitator course on Thursdays

    1200-1300 Kundalini meditation on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

    1400-1700 Family constellation groups on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

    In future, we would like to offer in addition in the evenings:

    1730-1830 Kundalini meditation

    1900-2130 MBCT course.

    Everyone seems to have benefited, and many of my clients have been able to break long standing addictions. I have trained about 30 facilitators who are ready and willing to teach this course if funded. If every surgery in country had a meditation centre like this near them, mental health could be transformed

    This structure of meditations has been used for thousands of years in monastries and convents to keep people mentally healthy. In 1979, Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn adapted the Buddhist practice of watching the breath (called ‘vipassana’) to create the secularised Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 8 week courses into public health care. This has been so successful that it has spread world wide. Dr Mark Williams created the MBCT course out of it. SECTCo provides the MBCT course for 2.5 hours per week for 10 weeks, and also offer additional meditations to make it accessible to all comers.

    For further details please see www.sectco.org.uk, and section 9 of www.reginaldkapp.org, particularly paper 9.76, ’47 meditation centres for heartsink patients at half the drugs budget saving £7 for every £1 invested’.

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    By Jean Smith in Complementary and Alternative medicine

    Homeopathy on the NHS

    September 7, 2012

    As a result of a remark on our Facebook page we have been challenged by Dr Jhund: Does the Socialist Health Association support Homeopathy?

    In the Charter for Health which we published in 1984 we said ” The beginning of alternatives to orthodox medicine are available on the NHS: some GP and Rheumatologists are learning osteopathic manipulations, and Homeopathy has always been available, though sparsely…All of these elements of choice can, and should be expanded.”

    Homeopathic medicine cabinet

    Homeopathic medicine cabinet

    We haven’t discussed homeopathy in the 30 years since that was published.  The House of Commons cross-party Select Committee on Science and Technology said homeopathic medicine should no longer be funded on the NHS and called for a ban on the medicines carrying medical claims on their labels.  The theory behind homeopathy is utter baloney, and the evidence of effectiveness for some other alternative therapies such as acupuncture is  better. But its interesting that this was an initiative from the Science and Technology Committee, not the Health Committee.  Jeremy Hunt (and a few hundred other MPs) welcomed the positive contribution made to the health of the nation by the NHS homeopathic hospitals;

    We are of course, and always have been, in favour of evidence based medicine. But medicine is not only a science. There is much less good evidence to support common medical practice than most people imagine.

    Complementary medicine can be  helpful to people for whom conventional medicine has nothing to offer. The NHS does pay for some complementary and alternative medicine, mostly for people who are terminally ill, or have severe and enduring mental illness.  Nobody gets homeopathy on the NHS when evidence based treatment is available. We think this is defensible.

    What I said which has upset Dr Jhund was my very guarded defend of homeopathy.  “Homeopathy does no harm and it’s cheap. NHS wastes money in much worse ways.”

    The arguments against homeopathy boil down to these:

    • There is no evidence that it works any better than placebo
    • It spreads and legitimises a magic and unscientific view of the world
    • Its a waste of money which could be better spent
    Those arguments are, in their own terms, entirely correct, and I don’t think any member of the Association would dissent from them.  Its obvious that if homeopathy worked as described by its supporters we would all be cured of all our illnesses because the memory of the remedies would be in the public water supply.  But people in the NHS do not use complementary therapies in the way the critics imagine. This is not a consumer choice for believers when an evidence based treatment is available.   They are used with people whose problems are not amenable to evidence based medicine, and especially where an evidence based approach may be counter-productive.  For these patients something which relieves their anxieties and enables them to cope with their problems a bit better if often all that is hoped for.
    Nobody seems to know how much money is spent by the NHS on homeopathy. The Department of Health say “there are currently four homeopathic hospitals in England, and in the region of 25,000 homeopathic items are prescribed each year. Total costs are thought to be in the region of 3-4 million a year.”  The homeopathic hospitals actually provide a variety of complementary medicine, not just homeopathy, so that may be an over-estimate.
    All the arguments against homeopathy apply with equal, indeed greater,  force against religion in all its forms. Every hospital has a chaplain. Often a team of chaplains. The cost to the NHS of organised religion is several orders of magnitude greater and the damage done globally by religion is much greater than any done by homeopathy.

    Large numbers of patients visit doctors and hospitals daily and  repeatedly with symptoms which are medically unexplained.  They are often convinced that they are seriously ill.  Their doctors generally think that their problems are primarily psychological, but these patients are often sent to hospital for investigations and to visit consultants in order to exclude their anxieties about the  possibility of organic disease.  This process reinforces their anxiety and their belief in their illness which is so mysterious that doctors cannot explain it.  These tests and investigations have their own clinical risks which are quite significant. That seems a good deal more damaging than a bit of water and mumbo-jumbo.

    A lot of fuss is made of the cost of the homeopathic hospitals, but it seems to have escaped the notice of their critics that they don’t contain any beds.  Only the memory of beds.

     

    See also:

    The Case for Homeopathy Dr Susan McAllion

    The Case Against Homeopathy  Dr Alex McMahon

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    By Thomas Ferguson in Advertisement, Complementary and Alternative medicine, Old people

    Supporting the Elderly Within a Failing Health Service

    June 17, 2013

    One of the most damning criticisms of our NHS services is its failure to provide adequate care for elderly patients. Numerous complaints have been made to the Health Service Ombudsman about specific instances of neglect or abuse, of which 10 cases were specifically outlined to demonstrate the failings of various NHS provisions.

    It’s clear from these cases alone that our current NHS health care system is woefully incapable of providing geriatric health care which is of a consistently high standard. So how will the current and proposed NHS reforms impact this already failing system?

    The True Cost of Impersonal Care

    Unfortunately, the impersonal, inadequate care offered to elderly people who enter the NHS system is symptomatic of more troubling problems. And although some of the proposed reforms will seek to address these concerns, it’s widely believed that efforts being made towards overhauling the entire NHS system could have been better spent improving local services.

    Some of the reforms proposed include technological developments such as mobile apps, which, it is proposed, will allow patients easier access to NHS information and services. But although this service will potentially benefit younger patients, the current core of NHS service users simply don’t know how, or are unable, to access these types of technologies. In addition, they provide yet another degree of separation between service users and service providers, paving the way for a further lack of patient-provider communication, especially in the case of emergencies.

    Integrated Care VS Co-ordinated Care

    Whilst the current reforms have highlighted a need for integrated care, it is co-ordinated care which patients – especially the elderly – are in such desperate need of. This means both co-ordination of information and services, without further fragmentation of the sort proposed by the current healthcare reform bill. And it also means improved access to services, which many patients are set to lose – and have already lost – with the continued closure of local services throughout the country.

    Caring for an Aging Population

    There’s no doubt that we are an aging population – this is majoritively true throughout the world. And because of this, the NHs is going to come under increased pressure to meet the needs of rising instances of dementia, cancer, osteoporosis and other geriatric concerns. In particular, our health system is going to have to make more adequate provision for at home care, including tailoring health care plans which include provisions for improved palliative care and mental health provisions, as well as alternative therapies and supplements of the sort which can be found at http://www.betrinac.com/.

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    By rixpyke in Complementary and Alternative medicine, Well-being

    A vision of a National Real Health Service

    April 29, 2012

    The NHS is a great and wonderful creation from our post war years when we were trying to make a better, healthier and fairer society. It is a thing to be proud of – and many wonderful people work in it. The only problem with it is that it is only offering only one kind of medicine and that is pharmaceutical medicine. And the only problem with that is that it will never bring about real health in a society. Pharmaceutical medicines, if used continually and exclusively, will eventually destroy health not create health. To create health we need to use systems of healing that promote the body to heal itself.

    If we only use a system that ‘does it to the body’ – as pharmaceutical medicines do – we will eventually weaken and disrupt the systems our bodies have evolved to heal themselves. If we then use further pharmaceutical medications to deal with the effects of our body having been weakened by the previous drug we begin our journey on the ‘cascade of intervention’ that all too often occurs in pharmaceutical medicine.

    If we go to the GP with a minor complaint – such as conjunctivitis – and are given antibiotic eye drops – the conjunctivitis may well be cleared by the next day. If we come down with a nasty cold 10 days later we might not see any connection to the conjunctivitis we cleared with the antibiotic drops less than a fortnight before. If we then take a decongestant and Lemsips with anti pyretic paracetamol in them we might find that we soon develop sore glands and ears and we are told by the GP that we have otitis media and should take oral antibiotics. No connection would have been made by the GP or us that there is a time line at work here: eye to mucous membranes to ear and lymph glands.

    From this last prescription we soldier on – have to keep going at all costs – and before we know it we have a dull pain in our back on the right hand side and back to the GP we go : kidney infection is diagnosed – and bingo! more, stronger antibiotics and anti inflammatory drugs to help with the pain. After this onslaught – and still we do not rest and recuperate – we begin to suffer from malaise and indeterminate symptoms – flu like, sinus pain, cystitis, loss of energy or loss of libido. Our body craves sugar – especially in the afternoons and we need strong coffee every morning before we can even open our eyes to face the day. The other thing that has happened is that our sleep has gone haywire – so back to the GP and onto the sleeping pills to try to right this wrong.

    By now with bad sleep and many low level symptoms we are getting in a state of nervous tension and depression. We get into arguments and have low mood and soon we are told we are depressed and need to go on an anti depressant. And the rest is – as they say – history.  All for the want of a remedy for the sticky eyes where this all started. I know an old lady who swallowed a fly….

    So now let me imagine the National Real Health Service of 2020 :

    The sticky eyed patient wakes up and prizes her pink eyes apart with the use of an old chamomile teabag. She then goes to her on-line GP surgery where she is asked to choose the healing system she wants to use from the front line services available : homeopathy, acupuncture, herbalism, Ayurveda, aromatherapy, acupressure, reflexology etc etc – the list – as we know – is endless. She makes her choice, types in her presenting symptoms, with concomitants and modalities and is sent back an immediate first aid remedy, from the medical tradition of her choice, to use while she is waiting for an appointment. Good nutritional advice is given at every contact and the golden rule for quick resolution of acute infections : plenty of water, garlic and vitamin C, no caffeine and no sugar until symptoms subside.

    The NRHS appointments system then offers her an appointment at the first available opportunity with the practitioner of her choice and with the healing system of her choice and she is seen within 48 hours – sooner if it is necessary. At this point the patient has a 45 minute appointment where she is treated holistically and the sticky eyes are put into a context with what else is going on with her body, her emotions and her mind. A treatment is given. Her own immune system is triggered into action and  she moves on towards shining health and vitality. So the old lady swallowed the fly – and that was all she swallowed – and she soon coughed it up and out again.

    This vision of a Real Health Service would not preclude Western Medicine, but WM would take its place in the great panoply of healing which would reflect our many cultures and our differences. One system does not suit all and the non-suppressive treatment of small, acute illnesses will bring about strong immune systems and healthy people. Primary care means the front line of care – so bring on the Real Health Service and ensure the front line is made up of a rich seam of health-bringing systems of care.

    Rix Pyke : rixpyke@btinternet.com

    Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. .. Einstein

    First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win …    Gandhi

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