Health Information

These years, complementary medicine, alternative (CAM) has become very popular, with about half of the population are using or have used CAM at least once.

The most common forms of CAM include acupuncture, homeopathic remedies, herbal remedies and yoga. This increased use of CAM appears to be based on distrust of conventional medicine and science on the basis of bad experiences with doctors and / or the belief that CAM is safe, natural and without side effects.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture is part of traditional Chinese medicine and is used for many chronic diseases, including allergic rhinitis and asthma. The process involves inserting needles into the skin at specific points on the body, which is supposed to restore the balance of “lifeblood.”

Most studies on acupuncture to treat asthma are not well designed, and are not typical of scientific standards. Many of these studies did not include a “control” (placebo or “fake” treatment) and lack of “visibility” (ie, the researchers know who received the real treatment and who is getting a placebo, so that can not be error) as part of the study design.

A review of available studies on well-controlled acupuncture show no little or no benefit in the treatment of asthma.

Studies on acupuncture in the treatment of allergic rhinitis are the most part, poorly designed, but show little benefit compared with placebo. A study in children 3 months of acupuncture treatment and 3 months follow up after treatment, no benefit seen in children who received the “real” acupuncture, but still need as much allergy medicine as placebo group.
Herbal Medicines
Several herbal supplements have been used in the treatment of allergies and asthma, certain advantages to the poster. Many medications used to treat various health problems are derived from plants and herbs, such as theophylline (long used to treat asthma).

Asthma. Studies on herbs in asthma showed benefit over placebo, although many studies are poorly designed. useful in asthma herbs include mixtures of Chinese herbs, Tylophora indica (Indian ipecac), and to a lesser extent, Boswellia serrata, butterbur and Saiboku to (TJ96). Moreover, kurroa Picrorrhiza has not proved effective in the treatment of asthma.

Despite the promising results with the use of herbs above, careful examination of these studies showed no convincing evidence that herbs are useful in the treatment of asthma.

Allergic rhinitis. Studies on herbs in allergic rhinitis are the most promising, with at least two studies on the use of butterbur in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. A well-designed study demonstrated that butterbur was equivalent to cetirizine (Zyrtec ®), whereas others showed that butterbur was equivalent to fexofenadine (Allegra ®). Another well-controlled study in allergic rhinitis have shown that Biminne was effective for allergic rhinitis symptoms compared with placebo. Finally, a well-designed study showed that a mixture of Chinese herbs were more effective in allergic rhinitis symptoms than placebo.

However, other studies using butterbur show no difference compared to placebo in the treatment of symptoms in people with allergic rhinitis. Grape seed has not considered useful in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Although herbal supplements are promising in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis, there are obvious drawbacks. The herbs are not without side effects (including some very dangerous), and have had interactions with many drugs. Herbal supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration in the same way that prescription drugs, purity is not guaranteed. Therefore, it makes little sense to take herbal supplements because they are safer than prescription drugs.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is based on the idea that diseases can be cured, giving the substance that causes the disease to a person in very small quantities. It is a principle similar to that used in immunotherapy, but in much smaller doses have proven to be beneficial for the use of allergy shots.

Asthma. Three well-designed studies show little or no benefit from homeopathic remedies to treat asthma.

Allergic rhinitis. Some studies show a benefit of homeopathy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis with antihistamines and ahead of chlorpheniramine, or equivalent to cromolyn nasal spray. However, many other studies showing no benefit of homeopathy compared to placebo.

Despite some encouraging results in some selected small studies, aggregate data for homeopathy is small, while the evidence of conventional drugs in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma is strong.

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