Should alternative medicine be integrated into the health system?
71%
YES
29%
NO
THE PUBLICS COMMENTS FOR THE INTEGRATION
It is a good idea to integrate alternative medicine into our
health system. As we know alternative medicines such as natural, herbal
medicines are very effective in treating many diseases. They are known to have
no side effects and also less expensive. Many countries are successfully using
alternative medicines in practice. I wonder why we are restricting ourselves to
only one stream of medication. We should find all possible ways to treat suffering
people, avoid queuing delays in hospitals. I believe they can be successfully
integrated in Ireland also in different stages.
Pushkar Ireland
we should not shut out any possible alternatives to do so
assumes we already know everything and closes our minds to searching which the
human race will never be able to do.
alex ireland Ireland
Of course alternative medicine should be integrated into the
health system. Conventional medicine looks at disease from a very narrow
perspective. They believe symptoms are the disease itself rather than the
body's expression of a disease. How often have people become sick after a
shock/grief/change in weather and yet the symptoms are treated conventionally
by pumping the patient with drugs/antibiotics! It's time we had a comprehensive
choice in the type of healing we want, whether it be spiritual, energetic,
chemical etc. We all know that healthy people can possess the same bacteria as unhealthy
people yet conventional medicine will use the existence of these bacteria in
unhealthy persons as the reason for their disease. It's time we looked at
people individually. Find out their story, get the trigger point for their
change in health, look at trends in their case history. Conventional doctors
never ask you what happened just before the illness appeared. Why would they?
This information is meaningless in their world. If you have an illness you get
the same drug as everyone else in this gross categorisation. It's amazing that
doctors who have spent years studying, in the end prescribe medicines that they
don't even know what's in them and they don't know exactly how or why these
drugs work (that's assuming the drugs do in fact heal, generally they only suppress
the symptoms and the patient comes back 6 months later with a deeper pathology
which of course the doctor treats as a completely separate illness, an
excellent example are children with eczema who are prescribed corticosteroids
and 6 months later develop asthma!).
Mags Fitzgerald Ireland
Yes, alternative therapies, especially non-intrusive forms,
should definitely be integrated into mainstream medicine in Ireland. I have witnessed first hand here in USA the beneficial effects of Reiki on cancer patients
(counteracting side effects of chemo), and on diabetics' blood sugar levels.
Wendy Plumley United States
I believe that alternative medicine should be a part of your
health system. I will suggest giving things like chiropractic a try over going
straight to the pain pills and eventually surgery because the doctors could fix
the problem. I myself have experienced the success of chiropractics. I had
severe lower back pain and that has been a thing of the past. I know also that
I have had no need of a doctor that thinks pills are the first answer. As I
learned from chiropractics, pain is your body telling you there is something
wrong and pills just kill that pain, they don't fix what is wrong. The body is
created to heal its self and aligning the spine and other joins allows that to
happen. Take a chance with something that can do nothing more than not help you
first before going straight to the pills and knife.
David United States
It is a misconception that physiological changes occasioned
by CAM treatment can be explained only by the truth of CAM theories. The
history of hypnotism is replete with examples of radical physiological changes
induced by verbal suggestion, such as paralysis and anaesthesia. Indeed,
hypnosis has been used in place of anaesthetic during surgery. It is plausible
that any physiological changes occasioned by CAM are caused by the same
suggestive psychological force operative in hypnosis rather than the processes
described in CAM theories.
Joe. Ireland
Alternative medicines cover a wide range of different
practices. There are some that may have some merit e.g. acupuncture but others
such as homeopathy that have none and it is unfair to group all treatments
under a single label. Any treatment should only be included if it has undergone
proper independent scientific and medical scrutiny. Most alternative medicines
appear to be little more than quackery but they still have their supporters.
Bill Robinson Ireland
I continually use alternative medication. I got a serious
infection some years ago. Only for alternative medicine I would not have cured
it. I just hope that our Health System allows this scheme to go through.
Margaret McGrath, Ireland
Not all complimentary and "alternative" medicines
are useless. If homeopathy is all psychological, how come they teach it in
medical schools in Europe? Like Maastricht in Holland, a world renowned school
of medicine, which is where my GP who is also a homeopath trained? I would have
no problem going to a qualified homeopath however I would never go to a
herbalist. It's sorting the quacks from the things that can help. And
integrating it into the health system would help people distinguish between
people who are qualified and those who aren't.
Emma Fahy Ireland
Without doubt the use of integrated therapy has been
instrumental in my own healing process in dealing with a mild traumatic brain
injury sustained five years ago. Specifically the use of Reiki and Cranial
Sacral provided results no conventional therapy or medication was able to
achieve. More recently the use of cranial sacral, reiki, and therapeutic
massage has been introduced into my daughter's wellness program as part of her
recovery process in dealing with the fatal disease, anorexia nervosa. It has
provided her with relief that no medication could provide, keeping in mind this
is a mental illness and not a physical disease (unless, as was the case in my
daughter's situation, initial diagnosis was malnutrition and therefore medical
intervention was necessary. However even at that point I regret now not
introducing more quickly the use of integrated therapy given the relief it has
given her).
Dorothy United States
I am an American who uses "alternative" medicine
frequently. In my view, the very term 'alternative' suggests that it is
inferior or some how outside the mainstream. This could not be further from the
truth. According the National Institutes of Health 2002 survey, up to 62% of
the U.S. population uses alternative medicine and spent up to $62 billion (USD)
in 1997 alone on these treatments. This high level of usage suggests that there
is high great deal of dissatisfaction with 'traditional' medicine and citizens
are seeking help elsewhere.
Rob M United States
I also believe that complementary/alternative medicine
should be integrated into the mainstream health system. Conventional medicine
does not have all the answers, ask any doctor. In saying that neither does CAM but if both fields were integrated together the cross over of unanswered problems would
be lessened. This shouldn't be about the politics of medicine, we see that
enough already, it's people's health that should be the priority and CAM such as homeopathy has been shown in MANY clinical trials to be of huge benefit to
patients. No we don't have the answers as to why but hopefully someday we will,
with the help of an open minded science community.
Martin Byrne Ireland
In the first instance it is curious that we use the label
'alternative' to describe practices that have been in place centuries before
the bio-medical model of medicine, albeit not all practices now described as
'alternative'. Many such practices, such as acupuncture, herbal remedies and
working on the energy field have stood the test of time and assisted countless
people. I am one of them and when you personally experience these ancient
medicine practices touch your lift and heal you when the bio-medical model
could not assist it does not matter that the rationally minded scientific
studies have not produced enough 'evidence' to convince the critics. I have
also used the bio-medical model in other instances and remain impressed by the
dedication and commitment of those who work in Western medicine in trying to
find new ways of assisting people. So this debate should not be about polar
opposites but about allowing different and complementary models of medicine to
co-exist for the benefit of all. In a truly open, tolerant and pluralist
society people have choice. At a minimum taxpaying individuals should have
freedom of choice in how they wish to take care of their health.
Brigid United Kingdom
History repeats itself.
David Ireland
I have had great results with homeopathy.
Brian Foley Ireland
my children have been treated with homeopathic medicines
since they were born and it works very well with no side effects.
Evelyn Ward Ireland
I had very bad skin problems and homeopathy solved them for
me.
Hannah Foley Ireland
I suffered from very bad eczema and a homeopathic
practitioner cured me. The alternative would have been to use cortisone creams
for god knows how many years.
jake Foley Ireland
By all means integrate 'alternative' therapies with
'mainstream'; however, the problem of keeping therapies focussed on true human
well-being, rather than degenerating into money-making rackets, remains for
both, and has to be addressed. When individuals do not have to pay themselves,
and when the treatment is actually pleasant and likely to be effective as well,
this problem becomes more acute! Maybe the Chinese had the right idea long ago,
of paying doctors only when one stays in good health.
Joe Aston Ireland
I and my family have used natural medicine for a number of
years now and find it absolutely wonderful. None of my kids or my wife and I
ever need antibiotics while all around us are constantly dosing on them(bear in
mind, the opposite of natural is unnatural - who wants that?). My son who has
an intellectual disability has made so much progress with natural medicine when
the conventional doctors told us nothing could be done. The notion that no
natural therapy works is patently nonsense and I invariably find that those who
suggest this have never tried any natural therapy. We would all test drive a
car before making up our minds whether to buy it, not blindly believe what we
read in a magazine, yet this is how many people inexplicably approach health
treatment. Therapies are "scientific" and "proven" if they
work, not if they seem to fit some limited form of lab experiment, which will
undoubtedly change in a few years anyway. Many people with "incurable"
conditions have been cured by natural medicine and these cases are well
documented. Every year in the US, around 200,000 people die from taking their
conventional drugs as prescribed (this is the official figure, so the real
figure is likely to be much higher)and many others are adversely affected.
Natural therapies carried out by qualified practitioners do not carry such
problems. In addition, conventional drugs are not always "proven" as
many would like us to believe, as evidenced by the numbers of drugs withdrawn
from the market or their labelling changed every year, after they have been
found to be killing and harming people and this after they have been supposedly
proven safe and effective. If we can't always explain how something works then
we should try to find out how it works, not state that it couldn't. How absurd
a position would that be to take? Many more medically advanced countries than Ireland (e.g. UK, France, Germany and Holland)fund natural therapies for patients and the use of
these therapies by the public is much higher than in Ireland. I don't need the
latest publication in a magazine (which contradicts the last one, which in turn
contradicted the one before that...) to "prove" to me that something
works. If my health improves, then it works!
MICHAEL FARRELLY Ireland
It saddens me that those that claim CAMS are rubbish and
that science has shown they don't work would rather have people carry on
suffering than look into why they work. As an asthma sufferer from age 7, the
best modern medicine could do for me was to suggest I take steroid inhalers on
a daily basis for life. This after 30 years of the best of medical
practitioners trying to 'manage' (not cure) my disease. Following homeopathic
treatment I am free from any medication, regularly exercise, free from the
debilitating effects of what was severe breathing problems. This story is
repeated by thousands in Ireland, millions in the world and still there are
those with limited knowledge and understanding of homeopathy who would rather
have me carry on with my asthma drugs. You can't convince some people no matter
what evidence is there, (and contrary to what some say, the scientific evidence
is absolutely and incontestably there) but as I said it saddens me that they
would rather see people suffer.
paul Ireland
I wish we could lose this tendency to try to justify
treatments on the basis of clinical evidence. I have worked as a member of a
Public Health medicine department in the UK at the time when they began to
really push the need for clinical evidence to justify medical treatments on the
basis that prioritisation of treatments (budgets actually)should be on the
basis of what works. It was well known at the time that the National Institute
of Clinical Evidence could only investigate a tiny amount of the medical
interventions and practices in order to ascertain whether they were actually
based on scientific evidence. And the list of new treatments that were being
incorporated into medical practice outstripped the rate at which they could be
investigated for clinical evidence. It was also well known that 90% of medical
interventions were not in fact backed up by the sort of scientific evidence of
effectiveness that people seem to want to apply to other therapies. And that is
just medicine - Lord knows what the actual rigorous scientific evidence (at the
level of placebo controlled studies) is to support psychiatry, psychology,
occupational therapy, speech therapy and many other therapies which are readily
incorporated into health systems. Some may be interested to know that there are
extremely questionable rates of 'effectiveness' for assisted conception
(including IVF treatments), certain skin complaints like eczema and (a big
contentious issue in my time) tattoo removal, all of which are treatments apparently
acceptable under medical practice. I'm afraid when you really get down to it,
the argument of scientific evidence isn't a useful indicator of whether
something should be in or out of a health care system. Medicine has a lot to
offer and CAMS have a lot to offer, scientific evidence is a good tool to use
to investigate questionable practices, but the LACK OF evidence gives no reason
to condemn a practice (medical or otherwise)
Patrick Ireland
Chris mcGohan above says that alternative practitioners are
either liars, charlatans or ignoramuses and then admirably concedes that they
are probably just ignorant. I can't speak for all CAMS but in the case of
homeopathy, it is available on the NHS in the UK and UK citizens can under
their health care system get a free referral to one of 5 homeopathic hospitals.
These hospitals are staffed by conventional nurses and doctors who apply
homeopathy and other practices in the treatment of their patients. Apparently
Chris knows better than all these staff and all the powers that be in the UK which set up and continue to fund these hospitals and it seems that he knows, but they
clearly do not, that they are liars charlatans and ignoramuses. Well there's a
thing then.
Mike Ireland
35% No, 65% yes, currently. Interesting that the sceptical
argument usually boils down to "It's scientifically proven. It's placebo.
We're right. There is no debate" plus some semantics and thinly disguised
mockery. If that's the case then why are so many voting with their feet? Dismissing
the increasing number who gain benefit from CAM in this way looks deeply
mistrustful and condescending of people in general, who tend to know what works
for them, especially since most sceptics have never properly tried any
reputable CAM therapy. How can you have a patient-centred health care system
when the treatment choices over half Irish patents are making are dismissed and
they are regarded as misguided? Does that take their needs into consideration?
Individualised, holistic treatments by their nature do not score well on tests
designed to find drugs which work generically on specific symptoms in a
production line healthcare system. Outcome studies tend to be favourable as a
result since they allow for the results of the art as well as the science of
practice. The healthcare system and its clients would benefit in efficacy and
reduced costs if the holy wars were set aside and the best of what's available
from all modalities put into practice. We already have de facto integrated
medicine by the choices people are making at a grassroots level. Let's make our
healthcare system more representative of that reality.
Mark O'S Ireland
I came home from eastern Europe some years back with a
severe chest infection. It got progessively worse over a period of a month,
despite stronger and stronger antibiotics. The antibiotics were also starting
to make me sick. I went to visit a homeopath who prescribed a remedy for me and
within 3 days was infection free, with a clear chest and only residual pain
from the duration of the infection. The pain went after another 2 days. Don't
tell me that homeopathy does not work.
John Ireland
Yes, within reason. I have little time for homeopathy but
would support the regulation of osteopathy, chiropractics, acupuncture etc. in
the interest of patients.
Conor Ireland
alternatives WORK!!!
Brian O'Rourke Ireland
I knew it.
Helen Ireland
Herbal Medicine has a wealth of scientific evidence behind
it. Members of the Irish Institute of Medical Herbalists have graduated with a
BSc in Herbal Medicine and use this knowledge along with knowledge of
traditional use of herbs, in the context of a therapeutic relationship with the
patient. It is unscientific to lump all forms of CAM together, this is not
sufficiently defined. When evidence is found it becomes established as an
'orthodox' treatment (eg.glucosamine for arthritis, acidophilus for Irritable
Bowel Syndrome).
Dr Dilis Clare Ireland
Interesting point by Kevin above - if the snake oil worked
big pharma would have taken notice. Actually they do know it works and there is
clear published evidence that they have been actively trying to cash in on it
for many years now. What is worrying in the case of homeopathy is that they
have found it impossible to patent existing remedies and not worth investing in
research into new remedies. So instead, what do they do? There is strong
evidence of a direct campaign by multinational pharmaceutical companies to discredit
homeopathy in a number of countries simply because they are worried about the
impact on their profits. So, Kevin suggests alternative practitioners are
self-deluded, I'd say anyone believing the negative hype is actually being
deluded by others. If you have the time and inclination to look at the facts
you will find plenty evidence that certain alternative practices work and what
bigger authority can you get than the World Health Organisation which has
recognised the massive contribution it makes to health improvement - why is
this information not getting across? I leave it to your judgment.
Gary Ireland
yes I would say it's about time that we integrate
alternative therapies into the irish health system, it definitely could do with
the help, especially non-invasive systems of medicine like homoeopathy, I have
seen the benefits of such therapies with excellent results.
pamela kavanagh Ireland
yes
john murphy Ireland
have been treated sucessfully by a homeopath before for
several different medical complaints, the remedies that I was given were
specifically for me and not a mass production of antibiotics or painkillers
that modern medicine is so willing to push on to the public. With modern
medicine the prescription only supresses the infection which will return when
the course is finished.
Rachael Ward New Zealand
The argument about whether alternative medicines work or not
is simply answered by looking at the fabulous results that alternative
medicine, and I speak in particular about homeopathy,has on babies. Babies
cannot produce false results - they don't the difference between a bottle of
conventional medicine and a homeopathic remedy. I've spoken to many mothers,
tired of bringing their babies to the doctor's every other week, who finally
turned to homeopathy because conventional medicine failed their children and I
have yet to meet a mother who did not get good results. Babies can't lie. Integrate
alternative medicines into our healthcare and we may finally start to have a
healthcare system and not one that is bulging at the seams with, unfortunately,
alot of continuous very ill people. Let's start working together. Ego's and
history aside, let's start to put the patients first and start empowering them
with real choices about holistic healthcare options. That empowerment alone
will go along way to many individuals healing process.
Yvonne McMahon Ireland
the drugs don't work...
Evelyn Foley Ireland
Prescription drugs kill more people in the US than so-called "harmful drugs". There is a glaring void that can be filled
using alternative medicine to treat minor ailments.
Patrick Foley Ireland
I'm all in favour of complete integration. I suggest to
integrate in either of two ways: either we rigorously apply all methods of
mainstream medicine to alternative medicine, including all tests, all laws, all
regulations, and so on; or we rigorously allow mainstream medicine to be as lax
as alternative medicine when it comes to proving claims, to monitoring and
administrating possible malignant side effects, and so on. Need less to say, I
prefer the first method of integration.
Rotaluclac Netherlands
It's nice to see the gentle shift in health care. The fact
is that it is the conventional medicine system in this country that has failed
us and because of this people are moving away from a system that does not work.
An integration of both conventional and complementary medicines should be
available where people choice what they want. Nothing should be forced or
forbidden. It’s about time we had a health service that we already pay for in
taxes. It’s time that people take control of their own health and work with
their doctors rather than being told what to do. It’s time to move away from
the nineteen century medical system we have and look at how other countries are
helping their citizens.
Jim Ireland
Acupuncture was the ONLY treatment that helped cure my back
pain. Numerous visits to the GP did absolutely nothing.....people who dismiss
Acupuncture out of hand do not know what they are missing. It definitely should
be integrated with mainstream medicine.
Declan Ireland
I have experienced CAM treatments with two of my Children
with outstanding results. It is not a question of whether CAM should be
integrated but when. The current scheme of use conventional or nothing else
just isn't good enough anymore. Patients should have the right to choose how
they wish to heal themselves and their family.
Sarah Doherty Ireland
I am a medical doctor in internal medicine and neurology.
Yet I have practiced alternative medicine for the last 35 years (TCM and
homeopathy) and have helped thousands of patients. It also was a blessing to be
able to use alternative medicine to help the poor in Third World Countries who
never receive any health care Luc De Schepper, MD, Ph.D, Lic.Ac, C.Hom
www,drluc.com
Dr Luc De Schepper United States
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is predicated on the implicit
premise that in testing ANY therapy (including conventional medicine), it can
be neatly isolated from the context in which that therapy is given. This is how
and why statistical analyses can be created apparently 'proving' or
'disproving' whether a therapy 'works' or not. Actually, there is no reason why
that implicit assumption should be true: it is just a convenient fiction for
promulgating EBM's (and the pharmaceutical companies')main testing procedure,
the double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Also, given that science is based on
inductive reasoning, it ultimately can prove or disprove nothing: philosophers
of science have known this for over 200 years since the days of Emmanuel Kant
and David Hume. Strictly speaking, the word 'proof' should be restricted to the
area of deductive reasoning as used by mathematicians. It therefore follows
that there is no way of proving or disproving CAMs or indeed any therapy using
the so-called 'gold standard' of double blind placebo-controlled trials. They
are the biomedical equivalent of Nelson putting his telescope to his blind eye
and saying "I see no signal". It must be blindingly (sic) obvious to
any thinking person that the act of blinding in EBM trials seriously affects
the possibility of observing anything. A better method of trialing any
therapeutic procedure might be via outcomes on real people in real time under
real conditions. Perhaps that might begin to explain why conventional drugs
seem to perform better in randomised trials than in real life; and why in the
UK last year alone, and according to the government's own figures 2.68 MILLION
people are estimated to have been harmed by conventional medical procedures.
Let's see the sceptics addressing the mess in their own backyard before they
poke any more derision at CAMs which many people desire. Of course CAMs should
be provided by any compassionately motivated health service.
Dr Lionel R Milgrom United Kingdom
of coarse complementary medicine should be integrated to our
health system.So many irish people have used, are using and will use CAM for their health needs isn't it time we recognised that reality and support their needs
and the CAM industry here in Ireland.
frances Ireland
I'm an MD in Canada, and I'm also studying Homeopathy (as
well as some other complementary therapies). Conventional western medicine is
wonderful, effective, and definitely has a place and provides an invaluable
service. However, it is also very limited and very ineffective in many cases
(most chronic illnesses especially) where the only therapy offered is entirely
suppressive. Although complementary medicine may have its limitations and
drawbacks as well (no one system will cure EVERYTHING!) it also has a place in
the mainstream. Ultimately we should not distinguish between
"conventional" and "complementary/alternative"
medicines--we should just have "medicine" or "health care,"
which will include many modalities.
Brett Canada
Why would one ever want to restrict one's options? There are
many ways to treat people. Allopathy [conventional medicine] is one narrow and
very expensive, invasive and poisonous way of doing it. The drug manufacturers
must be frightened [yet they control our food through fertilizers, our health
through drugs, our children through the mass experiment of vaccination, and our
wars through weaponry] to want to stamp on the very therapies that pose no
threat to their existence. When people are drug-free they are able to think and
make their own choices. Only fundamentalists of any persuasion want a
population whose minds are numbed. People in general, those who manage to
remain healthily out of the clutches of the medical profession, have as much
right to the health services that are useful to them as those who wish to be
led by the nose by unthinking medics. Chris McCrohan has his figures on placebo
wrong. Generally the placebo effect, for medical drugs and for alternative
therapies, is understood to be about 70%. If it is so, that you can think
yourself better, then why put drugs, with all their fake trials, fake results,
and long-lasting chemical side-effects, into your system? Why not pursue the
'alternative' that leaves you feeling better, touched perhaps, and listened to.
Who would swap 7 minutes with a doctor whose pen is hovering over a
prescription pad, for someone who will spend usually about an hour at least
really trying to understand what it is to walk in your shoes? What doctor has
any explanation for chronic disease? All the alternatives have workable
explanations and treatments. And lastly - what is the conclusion we can draw
from the amount of anger and resistance maintained by the 'anti-alternatives'
lobby? Anger and resistance often come from fear and ignorance. I should not
like my practitioner to work out of a state and mind-set of fear and ignorance.
Many doctors spread this along with their emotional blackmail of their
patients. The doctor doesn't know best. In most cases he knows nothing more than
any adult can read in a text book. He is clinging on to outmoded ideals, and
has fixed, narrow-minded thinking. If he could think critically, outside the
box, he would be adding some alternative practices to his toolkit. This is what
people want. Individual, caring treatment. Choice. So integrate all the
alternatives and get rid of the monopoly.
Jenni Netherlands
A lot of anger and righteous indignation on all sides here.
I hold that anyone who claims to have all the answers is clearly not to be
trusted. My family background is in traditional, western medicine with
individuals who have broken new ground in their disciplines. I have studied
Homoeopathy and other holistic approaches. My conclusion is that if the aim is
to achieve cure, then nothing can be dismissed simply because it challenges our
doctrines. That stance is I think known as dogma. With that spirit, most of the
real advances in conventional medicine such as anatomy and surgery would never
have been tolerated. Humility and flexibility are possibly the two greatest
assets in this debate. Anything else is power politics.
Mark Ellison Ireland
Thanks to Homeopathy, my 10 years daughter never ever took
antibiotic.
Diana Netherlands
The people who argue for a "scientific"
"evidence based medicine" clearly only have in mind the evidence
provided by a pharmaceutical industry whose "science" is contaminated
by the commercial interest of getting drugs on to the market as quickly as
possible and selling as many of them as possible so that they can provide a
good return for their shareholders. As has been proved again and again this
science is to say the least spurious especially when you consider how many
Flagship drug products have had to be withdrawn from the market due to serious
injury and death to people taking them in good faith. A research study to
estimate the incidence of serious and fatal adverse drug reactions in
hospitalised patients, for example, published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association in 1998 states that properly researched, regulated,
prescribed and properly used drugs are the fourth most common cause of death in
the USA. This is over 100,000 deaths per year. The study also reported that
over 2 million serious adverse drug reactions (defined as requiring hospitalisation
or causing permanent disability) occur each year in the USA. Are these not stunningly alarming statistics. So when we argue for Science and
evidence we should be very careful indeed. The public are intelligent and in
the round will usually come up with what is best for themselves. There is no
doubt about the benefits of many non-conventional medical practices as indeed
there is no doubt about the competence and caring practice to be found in our
GP practices and Hospitals. Medicine has to change and that change will be
founded on the information and experience coming from both conventional and non
conventional medicine
Enda Ireland
The human organism is an integrated whole that is fragmented
by science into the body , mind and the soul. The logic of science has
dissected the 'living presence' called Human and also sidelined the mind and
the soul from the body. God (I believe in God!)is a presence, the presence when
the 'total' is functioning in a great harmony-the trees and the birds, the
earth, the plants, the flowers, the air, the stars, the moon, the sun, the
rivers and the oceans- all together. If you dissect you will never find God.
Dissect a man; you cannot find the presence that was making him alive. Dissect
the world; you cannot find the presence that is God. The part exists through
the whole and not vice versa. Integrating other medical faculties will only
integrate the mind and soul with the body and give us an understanding of the
higher whole... the living presence called the 'Human'.
Dr Chetna Shukla India
It is great that this oh-so- important topic is getting
debated. If Homeopathy, which is the one I know something about, is so bad, why
is it the second most widely practiced form of Medicine in the World? We are
lagging behind here in Ireland by not giving serious Alternative Medicine a
place in our Health care.. All the Homeopaths I met in France are Doctors as well. It does work, very effectively . Its other main attraction is
NO SIDE EFFECTS! That's got to be worth something.For any sceptic who is out
there , I say try it . Go to a reputable Homeopath who is trained and
registered and you will find it fascinating and health-enhancing.Go on , be
brave! Don't just sit on the side lines slagging!
Sue Prickett Ireland
Dr Brian Hughes concludes his argument by stating that
expenditure should be confined to that which has a "basis in reality and
to confer direct medical benefits"..... Throughout the article he argues
for the scientific approach as being the only acceptable method of testing the
veracity and efficacy of a treatment system. In other words, it's implied that
if a system doesn't withstand scientific scrutiny then it doesn't have a basis
in reality. This line of so called reasoning is questionable to say the least.
For what does he mean by using the word 'scientific' to add what appears an
inalienable quality and integrity to the case. And similarly when the word
'reality' is used, it is done so in a manner that attempts to claim the high
moral ground. I sense it is implicit in the argument that if CAM/s don't
measure up to the so called scientific reality then it is spurious material and
the stuff of lesser Gods, so to speak. This is certainly not the case and Dr.
Hughes' argument is not proven. As an apologist for the scientist he states
that "scientists never claim to be able to explain everything. The entire
practice of science is based squarely on the assumption that we do not have a
full explanation for anything". Nor indeed do people who practice CAM therapies. They are, like other scientists, Self- refuting sceptics, not idealists. It
must be clearly understood that the word 'reality' signifies not only that
which exists in complete independence of the human mind, but also that which is
knowable by and intelligible to us. There is compelling argument which states
that reality as it appears to us may not be identical in character with what
really exists. This argument is mirrored in the contrasting scientific fields
of the received wisdoms derived from 'Newtonian' or limit physics and Quantum
physics. The latter area of experimentation is revealing findings that cannot
be measured by the conventions of limit physics. The word 'science' has changed
its meaning as we pass from antiquity and the Middle Ages to Modern times. As
an adjective 'scientific' is used by Dr. Brian Hughes as a term of praise
conferred on Medicine and by implication its absence from CAM/s makes the
latter nothing more than unfounded opinion. I find Dr. Brian Hughes' attempt to
relegate the non-scientific to the third division as unconvincing as saying
that philosophy is not a science and therefore is of no substance. Philosophy
is indeed not a science in the 'scientific' sense of the word. But without
philosophy we would have no moral philosophy as a branch of knowledge and we
would have no understanding of science itself,for when scientists write about
science, they do so as philosophers, not as scientists. How do we know that
allopathic medicine isn't in itself an illusion?
Greg Hastings Ireland
While properly prescribed medicines are the fourth to sixth
leading cause of death in the Western world (Lazarou et al, JAMA vol. 279 no.
15 to cite just one source), it is hard to believe that we are still discussing
the effectiveness of CAM, despite thousands of scientific papers attesting to
the positive benefits of various CAM therapies. Why are people like me voting
with their feet and using CAM? The reason is of course that conventional
medicine simply does not have all the answers and the solutions they have all
too often involve nasty side effects, which themselves are the cause of 15% of
all annual hospital admissions. A virtual merry-go-round. Pharmaceuticals are a
good business to be in, but they certainly don't cure disease. Caveat emptor
and long live freedom of choice in health care!
Erica Murray Ireland
Alternative medicine should definitely be integrated into
the health care system of Ireland. There are definite benefits to having the
freedom to choose between various forms of medical/healing modalities, working
together for the good of the patient. Millions globally (including me) have
benefited from using various types of alternative medicine (Homeopathy, Acupuncture,
Chiropractic, Reiki, etc.)where the conventional method has fallen short or
failed. Why would people continue to use them if they did not work! There is no
single answer to medicine, and that includes the so-called
"conventional" way. They all have value and should be integrated.
Rob United States
Fear begets fear begets fear. What have people got to fear
from alternative medicine? What exactly is the harm it is doing and how does
that compare to the harm that other practices are doing? What are those that
are afraid of alternative medicine afraid of exactly? Look at who is to benefit
from alternative medicine and those that are to benefit from condemning
alternative medicine - who has the power? To me it seems a situation of all to
gain and nothing to lose - there is no argument, yes let's embrace
alternative/complementary practices.
Paul Ireland
It is a must!
Catherine Sharfstein United States
Wake up "Homeopathy Works"
Gregory Miller United States
It is a no brainer. God love the conventional medical people
who feel their way is the only way.
Ian Ireland
The whole approach to health could be only by using both
medicine - conventional and alternative.
Betya Pereslegina Canada
As a fully licensed U.S. physician, double board certified
in family medicine and homeopathic medicine, with over 25 years of clinical
experience practicing the gentler art and science of integrative CAM health
care, and, having managed the long term care of thousands of patients, I can
state unequivocally that CAM therapeutic modalities can be and have been
extremely successful when applied appropriately in the hands of well-trained,
dedicated, experienced practitioners. It would be a pleasure to demonstrate,
through many many, cured case studies, the efficacy of classical homeopathy and
nutritional therapy in the treatment of a very broad range of acute and chronic
disease processes, including everything from acute otitis media to stage 4
cancers. The assertion by certain Irish doctors that CAM does not work is
patently false and clearly betrays their resounding lack of knowledge in this
area of medicine, as well as their myopia and narrow-mindedness. There is no
room left for 'flat earth' thinkers in modern medicine. All Irish physicians
should be required to take introductory courses in CAM to bring them into
reality, and become aware of at least half of what their patients already
know....CAM works!!!
Mitchell Flesiher, M.D., D.Ht., D.A.B.F.M. United States
Alternative medicine has helped me and my family many times
when conventional medicine could do nothing.
Lawrence Galante, Ph.D. United States
I am the homeopath. I have very good results of curing of
patients.
vladimir holodkov Yugoslavia
I became a homoeopath after a doctor gave me my first ever
homoeopathic remedy for influenza. Within moments all of my debilitating
symptoms disappeared. I was gob smacked to say the least. Since then I have witnessed
the positive effects of the well prescribed medicine many thousands of
times,for profound grief,ADHD, sclerotic liver, pneumonia, heroin addiction,
asthma,excema, psoriasis, Downs syndrome to name but a few. Just imagine the
cost savings to the public health systems is homoeopathy was permitted to
contribute in that sector. And to all the sceptics who insist it is just
placebo how would you explain a dog being cured of phantom limb pain when it
did not know that it was being treated - just one of my animal cases
Tim Eisemann Australia
As a GP for 45 years and a homeopath for 15 years I have now
a tool which would have made the first 30 years more beneficial to my patients.
Just come home from establishing comfort in a fellow who had a tongue biopsy.
So simple with a well chosen remedy
Jean Doherty Australia
The argument against incorporating alternative medicine on
the grounds that it is ineffective is ill-informed and inaccurate. Provided the
optimum (alternative) therapy is selected for any given condition, and experienced
practitioners are consulted, it is not only AT LEAST as effective as
conventional medicine, it is also AT LEAST as cost effective.
Simon King United Kingdom
Of course alternative medicine works. That Doctor is in
someone's back pocket - probably the drug companies. Yes, it should be
integrated.
Alison Herbert Ireland
A lot of positive reports can be find on PubMed database.
Dr. Hughes should know better.
trond Jamtun Norway
of course holistic healing protocols need to be included in
a national health care system. these protocols have been around for many
years--sometimes centuries. they have been keeping the human race alive and
thriving. they tend to be much safer than allopathy with its toxic drugs and
invasive surgery. and often can do what allopathy is not capable of effecting
because of the broader perspective applied to health problems. allopathy could
really profit from a joint alliance with holistic practitioners to effect more
profound healing and health in the population.
tanya marquette United States
Dr Hughes made a fair point, however, isn't it a bit rich
for any psychologist to label someone else's profession as 'pseudo-science'?
Lance United States