With spring and summer, you might expect a stampede of allergy and asthma sufferers to doctors’ offices across the country. But a recent study published in the journal Chest shows that almost half of allergy/asthma sufferers are opting to take “alternative therapies” instead of, or in addition to, traditional medical treatments.
Researchers interviewed 300 people with allergies or asthma and found that 42 percent of them sought relief through herbal medicine, acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage and homeopathic remedies.
“They’re tired of the tedious routine of allergy shots, especially when they don’t see much benefit from them,” said Kathy Broderick, a registered nurse, licensed acupuncturist and the owner of Chicago’s Healing House. “I’m seeing more and more children whose parents want to try an alternative to taking medicine.”
“People can get pretty frustrated with allergies and asthma, because they’re chronic illnesses, and it takes a lot of time and medication to feel better,” added Broderick, also a board-certified Chinese herbologist.
Allergies
More than 40 million Americans suffer allergic rhinitis, or “hay fever.” When they are exposed to grass, tree, ragweed or other pollens, their bodies react by causing inflammation in the nose and eyes. Nerves are stimulated, blood vessels begin to leak and mucous membranes become engorged.
The result: sneezing, itching and stuffiness in the nose; red, itchy, watery eyes; an itchy throat and palate. As the inflammation in the nose increases, drainage holes from the sinuses become blocked. When the sinuses can’t drain, they become a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. As bacteria grow, the sinuses fill with pus, and hay fever gives rise to a raging sinus infection.
Medical doctors treat allergies in two ways: symptomatically and preventively. Symptomatic treatment is directed to decreasing a patient’s misery. Antihistamines, nasal decongestants, eye drops and antibiotics can help a person feel better when they develop symptoms.
Preventive treatment revolves around the use of steroid nasal sprays and allergy shots. These treatments have been scientifically proven to prevent symptoms from occurring in a significant number of patients.
Less proven, but no less popular, are “alternative” allergy remedies. Broderick said treatments such as massage and herbs can reduce the symptoms of allergy and help patients decrease the amount of prescription medication they take. Other Chicago-area “holistic doctors” recommend flaxseed oil, high doses of vitamin C and the Chinese herb astralagus root. One recent study published in the British Medical Journal shows that the herbal extract butterbur is as effective as a leading antihistamine drug, without making you drowsy.
Dr. Joel Klein, an allergist with Associated Allergists in Chicago and president of the Illinois Society of Allergy and Immunology, said he has seen some of his allergy patients get relief by using acupuncture. But, he said, “very few of these alternative therapies have been rigorously studied, and I’m not sure they really work. So patients would probably be better off not using alternative techniques as their primary form of therapy.”
Asthma
There may be little harm in trying unproven therapies for a mild condition such as hay fever. Most of these non-traditional treatments have few, if any, side effects. If they don’t work, the worst result is a patient who continues to sneeze and itch.
Most experts agree that asthma is a different story. It also is an inflammatory disease that can be triggered by pollen. Unlike hay fever, however, asthma can have serious consequences. It kills more than 5,000 people each year in this country. Typical symptoms include wheezing, coughing, tightness of the chest, shortness of breath and fatigue.
The treatment of asthma has been revolutionized by the development of steroids that patients can inhale directly into their lungs. When used properly, these medications prevent the inflammation that can cause a person’s airways to tighten and close. Allergy shots, antihistamines and other bronchial inhalers also help a person breathe easier.
“If people take their preventive medication and follow up regularly, then severe complications can be avoided,” Klein said.
But some asthma patients also entrust their lives to alternative medicine. Acupuncture, homeopathic mists and Chinese herbs are popular therapies. But the Chest study found that many asthmatics rely on herbs containing the compound ephedra. Ephedra is an adrenalinelike chemical that opens the bronchial airways, helping people with asthma breathe easier.
The adrenaline rush caused by ephedra, however, can cause heart palpitations, stroke and cardiac arrest in some people. When the drug is combined with caffeine, as it often is in herbal preparations, the risk of side effects is increased further.
Many consumers don’t even know they’re taking ephedra because it goes by several names, including ma huang and sida cordifolia. But even if people know they’re taking ephedra, many doctors say there is no such thing as a safe dose, because the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate herbal preparations.
That means individual herbal pills may contain widely varying amounts of ephedra; one pill may do nothing for you, while another in the same bottle may give you an adrenaline rush.
“It worries me,” said Healing House’s Broderick. “I tell people, ‘Do not think for a minute you can come off your prescription medications, at least not right away.’ Asthma is a condition I’m very cautious with.”
By using alternative therapies, she said, many of her patients eventually can wean down their medications and sometimes stop them altogether. But, she added, it’s essential that alternative-medicine practitioners work in conjunction with the patient’s medical doctor in order to provide the best possible care.
“All conventional therapies should be used first before considering alternative therapies. If all traditional treatments have been used and a patient is still suffering, then he should consider adding alternative treatments into the mix,” Klein said.
“We need more valid, double-blinded studies to support the use of alternative techniques,” Broderick agreed, before quickly adding, “But I see their effectiveness in my own patients.”
A huge demand for other answers
In 1997, Americans made 627 million visits to alternative medical practitioners’ offices and dipped into their own pockets, to the tune of $27 billion, to pay for alternative therapies. Why? Most people give one of three reasons: They grew up with it as folk medicine, they have chosen a holistic lifestyle or they have had a negative experience with conventional Western medicine.
Despite the growing popularity of alternative medicine, most Americans still trust their family doctor, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Most of them see alternative therapy as a “natural” addition to their medical care. Only 15 percent of people think these treatments are more effective than the Western medicine practiced by their physician.
— D.R.M.
