Complementary and alternative medicine
Published on: Monday, September 30, 2019
KOTA KINABALU: Traditional and complementary medicine also referred as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) has become popular among the population of Malaysian for health maintenance and disease prevention, especially cancer. A holistic approach of “emphasising on health rather than on disease” has greatly influenced the development of CAM and prevalence of CAM usage.
CAM in Malaysia
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CAM in Malaysia depends on multicultural and diversity of Malaysian races and it can be classified into 6 major groups in Malaysia: Traditional Malay Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Indian Medicine, Homeopathy, Complementary Medicine and Islamic Medical Practice.
Malay as the major race has a traditional medicine that uses a variety of herbs and methods such as Malay massage.
As for traditional Chinese medicine, the Chinese has their own traditional medicine in which its origin mainly from China such as acupuncture, cupping and tuinalogy; the Indians practiced traditional medicine as well, and some of the practices that they used were Siddha, Ayurveda, and Unani.Complementary medicine in Malaysia may include chiropractic, naturopathy, osteopathy, nutritional therapy, hypnotherapy and psychotherapy. Islamic medical practice comprised of ruqyah, incantation or recitation from Holy Quran, which Muslims believe have a healing aspect.
A survey of type 2 diabetic patients published in 2009, found that 30.2pc of the patients used dietary supplements, followed by Chinese medicine (25.1pc) and traditional Malay medicine (17.9pc). Another survey conducted by University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) in 2018 found that Malay ethnic group (43.9pc) was the largest group of complementary and alternative medicine users, followed by Chinese (41pc) and Indian (14.4pc). These numbers have shown the prevalence and popularity of CAM among the Malaysians.
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In Malaysia, the Health Ministry had established the Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) division in the year of 2007. The T&CM policy states that it will co-exist with modern medicine and contribute towards enhancing the health and quality of life of all Malaysians.T&CM Unit established in selected government hospitals in order to implement this integration.As of July 2017, 15 hospitals have been successfully combined T&CM practices with the national healthcare system.
There are two hospitals established with T&CM unit in Sabah and Sabah Women and Children is one of them. Established on 6 December 2013, the T&CM in SWACH was fully operated on 2 January 2014. This unit provides 3 modalities of treatment comprising acupuncture, Malay massage and herbal therapy.
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Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one form of Chinese traditional treatment in which the traditional Chinese medicine believes that vital energy, called “qi” flows in the body through 20 pathways. These pathways are connected by acupuncture points. Sterile and fine needles are being inserted onto specific point on human body to release blocked qi. Studies reveal that human nervous system is stimulated with acupuncture to release natural painkillers and immune system cells. This may help to relieve pain, constipation, indigestion, anxiety, depression and insomnia.
Malay massage
Malay massage is a hands-on method aims to manipulate body tissue such as muscle and ligament. Massage can include a variety of types of pressure and touch. It can be light, concentrating on the skin, or deep, focusing on the underlying layers of muscle tissue. It may help to improve blood circulation, reduce muscle pain, improve immunity and generally improve body wellness. It can also reduce pain and depression in cancer patients.
Herbal therapy
Herbal therapy offered in T&CM aims as adjunct therapy for cancer treatment with the purpose of improving quality of life, boosting body immunity, reducing side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for synergistic effects of anti cancer drugs. The herbal therapy in T&CM is not considered as alternative treatment to cancer.
Natural does not mean safe
However, there is still a majority of people denying the effectiveness of conventional medicine. In fact, there are many who believe that alternative medicine is able to replace conventional medicine.The fact that there has not been adequate research done on alternative medicine may mean that it is not safe for patient consumption. In conventional medicine, each drug has been researched on extensively, so we will know the maximum dosage for each drug and can make the necessary preparation to counter or lessen undesirable side effects.
There is a misconception among the public that any product that is deemed as ‘natural’ is safer and healthier than those who are not. On the contrary, what is important is to know the safe dosage of each substance or product, which is currently not known in complementary medicine.
For example, cyanide, which can be found in apricot and plum trees and is considered a ‘natural’ product, can cause cyanide poisoning, which consequently leads to very severe effects.
The role of pharmacist in CAM
Today, a lot of issues have been raised regarding the use of CAM in a variety of population. Barriers to understanding CAM use include a lack of information about their use in organ impairment, poor data about the true incidence of adverse drug reactions associated with CAM, and the wide variety of locations where patients can purchase CAM. All these evidences indicate that the pharmacist’s role should expand to include CAM other than just traditional practitioner.
Pharmacists are actually best positioned to reduce the fear and reluctance on the part of patients to “confess” to their doctors that they are using CAM to augment their prescribed therapies because they are more likely to obtain the required information from their patients. Pharmacists are also best prepared to integrate this information into the patient’s history and to determine the effect of CAM therapy on the patient’s regimen of conventional medicines and other interventions.
The responsibilities of pharmacist in the field of CAM should include:
To acknowledge and seek out information about patients’ CAM use.
To be knowledgeable about CAM and able to identify various products do and what their risks are.
To help patients use CAM appropriately and safely.
To be aware of when patients who use CAM experience adverse drug events, and report them appropriately.
To educate patients about CAM and its potential benefits and risks.
Pharmacists approach to CAM needs to be collaborative in nature, and they need to work with health care professionals so that they are aware that the patient is taking CAM and it’s documented in the medical record.
A closer look at the world around us suggests that people are becoming more aware of what they consume, the products they invest on, and the institutions they trust to guide them in the right directions. However, on the other hand, these could be all quackery. People could easily trust what they read on the internet, especially the social media. Products that are being advertised or articles being posted on the social media have become their source of information. It might be the promotion of a person who pretends, professionally or publicly to have skill, knowledge or qualification they do not possess. As a conclusion, when there is any uncertainty about CAM, please seek advice from pharmacist or any other health care professionals.
Written by,
Lee Pin WaiStay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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