Alternative Treatment for Asthma: Case Study of Success of Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment of Children from Urban Areas with Different Levels of Environmental Pollution
The present study examined efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment in Dutch children with asthma in areas with differing air pollution. The study results indicate that TCM treatment of children living in more polluted urban area is less successful then that of children living in cleaner air area. 1. Introduction 1.1. Use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Patients with Asthma In the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Western cultures, herbal therapies appear to be commonly used for asthma. Well-controlled scientific studies have not been performed on many of the Asian herbal therapies, and some basic studies have been performed on various herbal components (active ingredients); more needs to be done to assess the composite effects of many herbal remedies [1]. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), ayuverdic medicine, herbal therapy, acupuncture, yoga, homeopathy, chiropractic medicine, and massage therapy continue to gain popularity as modalities for the treatment of asthma in Western Europe in general and in The Netherlands in particular. CAM is commonly defined as a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, and alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine NCCAM). CAM use is widespread because parents are seeking a cure for asthma, as well as alternative methods that are natural, without long-term side effects [2, 3]. In The Netherlands, CAM in general and TCM in particular are still not officially recognized as a viable alternative by most medical practitioners, pharmaceutical and insurance companies. The medical practitioners, themselves educated within the dominant paradigm, continue to offer the patients pharmaceutical-based medicine as the most effective and scientifically validated form of medicine [4]. These medicines typically contain corticosteroids and beta-agonists, the long-term use of which indicates serious side effects. State-supported pharmaceutical industry and insurance companies largely subsidize delivery of these medicines, while CAM delivery is largely funded privately. It is perhaps not surprising that asthma patients’ noncompliance to the prescribed medical regime is seen by most practitioners as a matter of “denial”-either of rationality guiding the evidence-based medicine or of the patients’ own identity
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