Alternative Medications Can Bring Big Risks

Alternative medicine is big business. Millions of Americans use alternative medicine, which is defined as any type of medication which is outside of mainstream medicine. Other terms for alternative medicine include neutraceuticals, unconventional medications and complimentary medications. In 2000, expenditures on this type of treatment exceeded $14 billion, and the industry has only grown larger since then.

While many of the alternative medications that are used may show some anecdotal improvement of various conditions, there are certain risks that come with using alternative medications. The biggest risk associated with this type of treatment is that much of it goes unreported. That is, many patients do not tell their doctors about alternative medications they may be taking. This can lead to serious drug interactions.

A study conducted in 1993 by Dr. David Eisenberg, et al, showed that most people using alternative, or unconventional medications at the time were not reporting their use of these treatments to their doctor. The study showed that roughly 1 in 3 people surveyed via telephone were using alternative medication, mostly for some kind of chronic condition. The most common of these conditions included things like back pain, allergies, arthritis, insomnia, sprains and strains, headaches, and high blood pressure.

More striking than the shear amount of people using alternative medications was the amount of users reporting this information to their physicians. Less than 30% of the people surveyed had ever mentioned it to their doctors.

The Eisenberg study has since been used as a training tool for doctors to point out the importance in asking about alternative medications.

Manufacturing of alternative medications is not regulated like the manufacturing of mainstream drugs. This leads to an increased incidence of impurities, which serves as the basis of many of the adverse reactions of the medications.

A random sampling of 240 Asian patented products in 1998 by the California Department of Health Services found that over a third of the products contained various levels of heavy metals far exceeding the levels allowed in mainstream medications.

35 of the products contained lead, with one product having a level of 319 parts per million. Arsenic and mercury were also found in massive quantities in some preparations, going way beyond the 10 parts per million limit that the US Pharmacopoeia has set for heavy metals.

Many people still swear by the use of supplements like garlic, echincea, and St. John’s Wort. There may be some evidence that alternative medications like these have a minor health benefit, but usually the mainstream choice is far more effective. For example, high blood pressure is easily treated with a variety of medications. Garlic has a very minor effect on lowering blood pressure, and it is usually not enough to bring the pressure down to a healthy level.

It can not be over-emphasized how important it is to discuss alternative medications with your doctor. They should know about any and all supplements that you are taking, just as they should know about any mainstream medications. This helps avoid serious drug interactions and complications.

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