The Complementary and alternative medicine practices have been used for thousands of years in the pursuit of wellbeing and health. The CAM therapies include different practices and products such as the botanicals and dietary supplements, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, therapeutic massage and mind-body medicine (Edelman, Mandle, & Kudzma, 2014). However, well-designed clinical trials in the field of complementary and alternative medicines are lacking. Therefore the effectiveness and safety of many CAM are still uncertain. However, there are trusted resources used to determine safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicines.
Before, using any CAM therapy and supplements, it's important to discuss your interests and information on any therapy with your health care provider before making any decision. Also, be an informed user or consumer about the CAM therapies. Find out what scientific studies says or have done on the effectiveness and safety of the health approach recommended or you are interested in trying (Edelman et. al, 2014).By so doing, you will determine the best therapy that works on you. Before using any herbal or supplements, get to find out any potential side effect they have or if they have any interaction they could have with the medication you are taking.
Besides, use the treatment that has been proven safe for the condition and avoid using of medication or drugs that are not proven effective. Therefore, only use drugs that have been scientifically proven safe and effective by the acupuncturist or the complementary health practitioner. Also, it's important to read more on complementary therapy to know the ones that are scientifically proven and safe for the health. Also, learn about the factors that affect the safety of the CAM (Edelman et.al, 2014). Therefore, some practices require the presence of health practitioner while administering as they require knowledge and skill. In such therapies, it's important to consult an expert to administer to ensure safety and effectiveness. Finally, for the products like the dietary supplement, the quality of the manufacturing process and the specific ingredients are the most important factor to look into them.
Reference
Edelman, C., Mandle, C.L., & Kudzma, E. C. (2014). Health Promotion throughout the life span. St. Louis: Elsevier.
