Eulalee ThompsonComplementary medicine, for some time now, has been standing on the steps of the kitchen door, waiting for the chance to be invited in by the medical establishment.
THE INVITATION came nearly two weeks ago when, for the first time in Jamaica, practitioners of conventional and complementary medicines staged a joint symposium. This signalled a growing acceptance by the medical establishment for other methods of providing health care to the public.
Dr. Winston Dawes, president of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ) admitted that there were "other truths" to be explored by western (conventional) doctors and that there were many things in health care that cannot be explained by western medicine.
"For example, we know that people who go to church often tend to have less episodes of diabetes, heart attacks and other illnesses, so maybe there is something in the mind. It is therefore incumbent on all of us to become aware of all aspects of health care," he said.
Grace Allen-Young, the Health Ministry's director of Standards and Regulations, also indicated that an advisory board on complementary medicine will be set up to review a process for determining the basic qualifications for the practitioners and review a process for licensing them. The Ministry will also open a new post called development officer for complementary medicine.
Complementary medicine includes a very wide range of health practices including the use of herbal remedies, acupressure, acupuncture, homeopathy, yoga, biofeedback, chelation, reflexology, hydrotherapy, fasting, massage therapy, enzyme therapy, juice therapy, colonic irrigation, hypnotherapy, detoxification therapy, tai chi, aromatherapy and nutritional therapy.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that a large proportion of people in developing countries still rely on traditional practitioners for their primary health care needs. WHO estimates that traditional birth attendants assist in up to 95 per cent of all rural births and 70 per cent of urban births in developing countries. Through its Traditional Medicine Programme, WHO has been supporting member states to formulate national policies on traditional medicine and to review its safety and efficacy.
The therapies range from traditional to modern, high-tech applications, according to Dr. Henry Lowe, who has published research on Jamaica's ethnomedicine. Many of them are harmless but others dangerous; some of them are scientifically proven but others have no scientific credibility.
Some of the therapies, he said, posed some dangers. Aromatherapy (use of scents from essential oils), for example, is risky for pregnant women and individuals with asthma or skin allergies; chiropractic (joint manipulation) is best avoided if you have a fracture, rheumatoid arthritis or any kind of bone disease; biofeedback (control of involuntary functions using sensors) is a hazard for individuals with a pacemaker or a serious heart condition; yoga is a hazard after surgery or recent back injury, best approached with caution by individuals with heart disease; prolonged fasting is dangerous for children, pregnant or nursing women, individuals with heart, lungs or kidney problems, and massage therapy is risky for people with a skin disease, circulation disorder, a bone fracture, a dislocation or cancer.
Dr. Lowe also said that until recently, the pharmacological activities attributed to many plants were not based on theory and experimental evidence but on common sense and tradition. In any research and development programme, he said that the problem of toxicity must be considered.
"A close look at the number of toxic chemicals identified in each plant shows that almost every plant contains one or more chemicals containing harmful activities, and serves as a caveat that plants should not be used blindly to treat ailments without thorough preliminary analyses," he said.
