1. Conventional and Complementary Medicine: Skills for the Health Care Consumer

2. Self-Care: Managing Medical Problems
Self Assessment
Being a good observer, what makes it worse/better
Monitor vital signs
Temperature, HR, BP, BS, UTI, pregnancy detection
See a Physician if a symptom is:
Severe
Unusual
Persistent
Recurrent

3. Self-Care: Managing Medical Problems
Emergencies:
Major trauma or injury
Uncontrollable bleeding
Severe shortness of breath
Persistent abdominal pain
Poisoning or drug overdose
Loss of consciousness
Stupor, drowsiness, or disorientation
Severe or worsening reaction to an insect bite or sting

4. Self-Treatment: Many Options
Watchful waiting- body can heal itself in many instances
Nondrug options-drink water, cold/hot pad, rest, etc.

5. Self-Treatment: Many Options
OTC drugs have been identified as safe by the FDA
~ 60% of all medications are OTC
When Self-medicating with OTC medications
Read labels
Do not exceed the recommendation
Try to buy generic
Never take a drug from an unlabeled container
Be cautious if pregnant and nursing
Pay attention to the expiration date (~90% of prescription drugs potent for years after)
Store medication properly
Special caution with aspirin

6. Conventional vs. Complementary Medicine
Conventional (Western) Medicine – a system of medicine based on the application of the scientific method
Diseases are thought to be caused by identifiable physical factors like pathogen causing microorganisms
Every disease is defined by a certain set of symptoms and that these symptoms are similar in most patients suffering from this disease

7. Conventional Medicine
Approach to Treatment:
Focuses on the causes of illness not a spiritual or mental imbalance
Relies heavily on prevention, surgery and pharmaceuticals
Based on scientific ways of obtaining knowledge: Empirical, Rational, Testable, Parsimonious, General, Tentative

8. The Providers of Conventional Medicine
Medical Doctors (MD)
Doctors of Osteopathic medicine (D.O.)
Podiatrists
Optometrists
Dentists
Allied health care professionals
Registered Nurses (R.N.s), Licensed Vocational Nurses (L.V.N.s), Physical Therapists, Social Workers, Registered Dietitians (R.D.s), Physician Assistants (P.A.s), Nurse Practitioners, Certified Midwives

9. Getting the Most Out of Your Medical Care
The Physician-Patient Partnership
Be assertive, ask questions, do your part
Your Appointment with Your Physician
The Diagnostic Process
Why do you need it?
What are the risks?
Preparation?
Medical and Surgical Treatments
Non-drug options?
What is the medicine supposed to do?
Is surgery necessary? Any other options?

10. Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Belief about Health:
Disease is a disturbance or imbalance of physical processes and forces/energies in the body.
These life forces/energies are called qi (chi)
Treatment aims at reestablishing equilibrium, balance and harmony

11. Five Domains of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Alternative medical systems
Mind-Body interventions
Biological-based therapies
Manipulative & Body-Based Methods
Energy Therapies
Alternative medical systems
Ex. Traditional Chinese medicine, Homeopathy
Homeopathy -treats patients with heavily diluted preparations which are thought to cause effects similar to the symptoms presented.
Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution
2. Mind-Body interventions
Ex’s. Hypnosis, Meditation, Prayer
Hypnosis – a deep relaxation during when the patient is more suggestible and the practitioner will help him/her change unwanted behavior or deal with pain and other symptoms
3. Biological-based Therapies
Herbal therapies – consist primarily of herbal therapies or remedies, botanicals and dietary supplements
4. Manipulative and Body-Based methods
Ex. Chiropractic, Massage Therapy
Most commonly accepted of the CAM manual healing methods
Focuses on the relationship between structure, primarily of joints and muscles and function, primarily of the nervous system to maintain or restore health
Manipulation of the joints especially the spinal column
5. Energy Therapies
Ex. Qi gong, Reiki

12. Figure 20-4 The five domains of CAM practices

13. Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Alternative medical systems
Ex. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
Harmonious flow of qi defines health
Primary treatments: Herbal remedies & Acupuncture
Herbal remedies- herbs, plant products, fungi, animal parts, minerals are used as medicines
Acupuncture-used to correct disturbances in the flow of qi by inserting needles through the skin at appropriate sites (meridians)
Homeopathy
Treating an individual with highly diluted substances hoping to trigger the body’s natural system of healing

14. Mind-body Interventions
Makes use of the connection between mind and body and the effect they have on one another
Meditation
Hypnosis
Prayer
Mental healing
Biofeedback
Placebo effect is one of the most widely know examples of mind-body interdependence

15. Biological-Based Therapies
Consist primarily of:
Herbal therapies or remedies
Botanicals (a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal or therapeutic properties, flavor, and/or scent).
Extracts from animal tissues (shark cartilage)
Dietary supplements
Many overlap with conventional medicine’s use of dietary supplements
Cranberry
Saw palmetto
Soy
Garlic
Gingko
Echinacea
Milk thistle
Black cohosh
St. John's Wort
Ginseng

16. Manipulative and Body-Based methods
Manual healing based on the idea that misalignment in one part of the body causes pain or dysfunction in another part
Ex. Chiropractic medicine, massage, osteopathy (manipulation/massage of bones, joints, muscles)

17. Energy Therapies
Forms of treatment that use energy originating from the patients or from other sources (therapeutic magnets)
Qigong (involves rhythmic breathing coordinated with slow stylized repetition of fluid movement, a calm mindful state, and visualization)

18. Energy Therapies
Reiki (intended to correct disturbances by use of specific hand positions on or near the patient’s body to promote balance

19. Evaluating Complementary and Alternative Therapies
Questioning the CAM practitioner
Do your own research about the safety and effectiveness of a given procedure
Why does he/she think the therapy will be beneficial etc.
What is the cost?
How long should therapy continue?
Expected cost of treatment? Will insurance cover any portion of it? 19