Alternative Medicines For Complementary And Integrative Health

The complementary and alternative medicine known as (CAM) has become what is the mainstream for healthcare. Most cancer patients use this as the standard for many cancer patients. Alternative medicine is uncommon whereas individuals who use nonmainstream medicine also use conventual medicine. The integrative approach has grown within the healthcare setting in many places in the United States. Most people use medical treatment that are not a part of medicine, such as acupuncture that can help with the side effect of cancer. Practitioners try using their sound judgement on medicine. Really and truly know how safe are the treatment. Americans with the new generation that have their own traditions that are passed down from generation to generations.

Depression is widespread public health concern of major significance. According to The World Health Organization (WHO) depression is within the top five leading causes of disability globally. The decline in the quality of life is accompanied with major distress and their capacity for social, interpersonal, and the physical role of functioning become debilitated in adults with this ailment. Many adults seeking help are disinclined to accept antidepressant medication to aid them in their recovery, or they simply are unable to tolerate the side effects of them. So, what other options do they have to aid them in their recovery?

Complementary therapies are good for a person’s health and wellbeing. It is used as a form of medicine and treatment to some illnesses. Complementary therapies can be used to help the individual manage pain and help relieve pain. According to NHS Direct “These medicines and treatments range from acupuncture and homeopathy to aromatherapy, meditation and colonic irrigation.”

Depression is associated with “significant disability”, mortality and substantial health care costs affecting nearly 840 million people globally and 14.8 million Americans (Anglin, et al., 2013). The estimated economic burden to the United States is $210 billion per year (Greenberg, 2015). Depression can have several forms ranging from major with a single episode of repeated episodes of persistent (lasting for at least 2 years) (nami.org, n.d.). Depression can occur after trauma, with the onset of winter and declining sunlight (seasonal affective disorder (SAD)), post partum or situational (nimh.nih.gov, n.d.). There is a familial tendency to depression and “females, blacks, Hispanics and persons between the ages of 45-64” are more commonly affected (nami.org, n.d.; vitamindcouncil.org, 2013). Individuals with chronic diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, an inability to maintain normal weight and a healthy lifestyle are more likely to be diagnosed with depression (vitamindcouncil.org, 2013). Treatment commonly consists of medication and/or psychotherapy, exercise, light therapy, brain

Complementary and alternative therapies are very large group of non-orthodox therapies that may be used alone or with other non-orthodox and orthodox therapies. This term (CAM) is applied to over 700 different therapies. Some relaxation techniques, massage therapies, special diets and self-help groups could be considered to be lifestyle rather than true therapies, also it can be considered as actions that enhanced the feeling of

17.5 million Americans are diagnosed with clinical depression every year. It 's not "just the blues" or some "made-up disease" that many people can just get rid of. It affects your moods, thoughts, body, and behavior. Researchers believe depression is caused by the two naturally occurring chemical imbalance of serotonin and norepinephrine. These chemicals are located in the brain and body. Serotonin and norepinephrine are thought to be associated with mood. There are four types of depression. Those are mild depression, major depression, situational depression, and seasonal affective depression also known as the "winter blues." It is thought that by the year 2020 depression will be the second largest killer after heart disease, and studies show that it is a contributing factor to coronary disease. People who have depression experience some of these signs: sadness all day and feeling that way every day; Loss of interests or enjoyment in your favorite activities; Feeling emptiness or hopelessness; Fatigue; Sleeping to much; Change in appetite. Many doctors today are prescribing thousands of prescriptions in the battle to fight depression. I believe they need to look at other alternatives to fighting depression first before they so easily reach for that pen and prescription pad. Some of the drugs used to treat depression are Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and Cymbalta. Many of these drugs have serious side effects and have been linked to suicide, violence, psychosis, abnormal

Conventional treating of patients is not always the best treatment; there are routes a provider can explore to assist in the overall health and wellbeing of the patient. Complementary and alternative therapy (CAM) is the other route for the patient. Each of these modalities can produce a healing effect or relief from an ailment that will have an effect in a positive manner on the quality of life. Too many times patients become settled or complacent in his or her disease process and never look into the other routes.

People encounter various challenges in life ranging from diseases, lack of basic essential needs and psychiatric problems among others. This has given rise to various forms of therapies being adopted by specialists whilst offering solutions to depressed individuals. Group therapy has taken a center-stage in the management of depression. Butler et al (2008) in their article titled "Meditation with yoga, group therapy with hypnosis, and psychoeducation for long-term depressed mood: a randomized pilot trial" show that depression and anxiety form part of the well-known conditions named by individuals seeking treatment using therapies and complementary alternatives. Alternative therapies include yoga, qigong, tai chi, mediation, and exercise. They argue that people are increasingly using these therapies. Butler provides information claiming that yoga and exercise are effective therapies with high rates than uncontrolled activities (Butler, et al 2008). The authors also demonstrate that these therapies can be compared to established anxiety treatments and depression treatments such as sertraline, cognitive behavioral therapy, and imipramine.

The first step to treating many of these new cases of depression is the prescription and use of antidepressant medication, however this has cause a mass flooding of our society with unnecessary prescription drugs. Due to the ease of treatment, primarily with prescription drugs, and the large range of severity in depression is often over diagnosed, adding to the problem.

Australians have embraced the use of complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) with two out of three individuals in Australia accessing such services yearly (The National Institute of Complementary Medicine, 2010). CAMs are treatments that lie outside of typical mainstream medicine such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and western massage therapy. The general population commonly uses these services to assist in relieving pain caused by chronic illnesses (Manya, Champion, & Dunning, 2012; Okoro, Zhao, Li, & Balluz, 2013) or other medical ailments (Gottschling et al., 2013; Nissen, Lunde, Pedersen, & Johannessen, 2014). However, due to the lack of rigorous scientific testing on CAMs, many medical professionals are hesitant to suggest their use

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly popular and widely used. The studies and research on CAM is limited compared to the traditional medicine. There are conflicting perspectives among healthcare professional regarding the use of CAM in mainstream health setting. CAM therapies have been progressively emerged in conventional medicine. Thus, it is important for nurses to understand it uses and safety measure in order to provide the effective nursing care.

Complementary and Alternative medicine, commonly known as CAM, includes all medical practices considered “nontraditional” or not part of standard medical care. This broad umbrella covers everything from acupuncture and massage therapy to use of herbs and probiotics. Over the last two decades, the use of CAM has increased rapidly, and continues to gain popularity and use (Nursing Times). The National Health Interview Survey of 2007 concludes that 4 in 10 adults are using some form of CAM (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health), and even larger numbers projected to be in use by this year. The term “CAM” is inclusive of a multitude of different methods of application, but there are few methods of treatment which are leading in popularity and usage.

To begin, alternative medicine offers an immensely cheaper treatment to its patients compared to conventional medicine. There is more than one way that alternative medicine avoids the unnecessary costs that can help to make this type of treatment more efficient. First of all, alternative medicine chooses to avoid the use of costly technologies that conventional medicine chooses to use. Expertise Patricia Herman states that, “CAM therapies seem effective and a good candidate for cost savings because they avoid high technology”. This high technology that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) avoid using are very costly technologies that make a significant difference in cost compared to conventional medicine. Additionally, alternative medicine can provide low cost and effective therapies to patients. Patricia Herman again says that, “studies indicate CAM therapies can be considered

Complementary or Alternative Medicine also known as CAM for short. There has been a rise in popularity in the United States for an alternate solution to the traditional healthcare option. Alternative Medicine uses a large variety of methods to treat individuals/patients. In many cases both conventional medicine delivery systems are uses in conjunction with complementary alternative medicine to maximize wellness.

Although, alternative medicine has been around for centuries there is limited research evidence of it, leading to lack of confidence and effectiveness on its methods in the medicine world. Even then, in the last couple of decades the subject of alternative medicine has gotten massive amounts of attention causing it to be an endless worldwide discussion. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) released a survey in late 2007 stating that at least 40 percent of adults in the US and 12 percent of children had used complementary or alternative therapies at least once in their lifetime. Meaning at least half of Americans have used a form of Acupuncture, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy and or