WITHOUT the WHITECOAT
Giving justice to herbal medicine
I would like to thank a colleague in the field of medicine and a practicing physician in the field of alternative medicine Dr. Romy Baron for the copy of the Alternative Medicine issue dated, March 2002 which include the article "On the Edge with Burton Goldberg... the science of deceit"
Being part of Metro Iloilo's media community it is my responsibility to educate the public on the effects of medicine--may it be some herbal preparation or the plain medications. Commonly, we are taught that paracetamol is used to address symptoms like fever, and antibiotics are given only after diagnosis by physicians. The practice had used lifelong standards and guidelines for treatment of most of the disease entity that we encountered. However, there will be some diseases or illnesses that physicians cannot address or zero in, because we are not "demi-gods" that stand on some pedestal (then we label them as "rare" cases), for short we are just human inside like our patients.
As physicians we were taught to apply medicine or remedies to address our patient's illness, we have never accepted that the field of medicine is so "perfect", there is one thing we can promise our patients ... "CARE", but we can never promise cure or treatment remedies for their illness which makes the field of medicine a very imperfect field of science.
I feel terrible hearing the airwaves full of advertisements of some sorts of a "herbal" preparation or concoction that promises to cure all maladies, illnesses and diseases of the world. The Food and Drug Administration of the US (1993-1998) shows reports from all levels of the government (federal, state, and local agencies) a total of 184 deaths, in which was attributed with weight loss formulas. The Journal of the American Medical Association have reported on deaths of properly prescribed medications and pharmaceutical agents and its side effects to be more than 100,000 every year, in its report on "medical errors" another 100,000 or more. The JAMA article estimated 2 million people had required hospitalization every year for the adverse side effect of drugs. Thus the statement under the science of deceit "the proven dangers of prescription drugs are often kept from doctors and patients, with catastrophic results."
Another stunning discovery from the said article is the statement "The FDA does not actually test drugs, but only reviews studies submitted by the drug manufacturers." Believing that it is the FDA that guards and protect the population-at-large of the medicines that are sold for public consumption is already an eyesore or disappointment on my side. We may have shared the same belief about medicine, may it be of herbal in origin that are used by our medical colleagues in Alternative Medicine or just the plain and simple medications that we all learned in medical schools or in the residency training programs. "So bet informed, take responsibility for your own health, and choose your doctors and medicines wisely," says March 2002 issue of Alternative Medicine.
My utmost respects for my medical colleagues in alternative medicine, especially Doc Romy, hoping we can weed out the system of some enterprising "quack" doctors, or those "vultures" just waiting for the right timing to get your hard earned cash. In the practice of medicine there is always a room for alternative medicine, thus we all should remember that the field of Medicine is a very imperfect world.