 |
At a time when there
remains, perhaps inappropriately, a perception of a continuing antithesis between
Conventional and Complementary Medicine, it is a delight to open this book that Bridges
this Gap with the authority of a Professor of Medicine based in a London Teaching
Hospital.
This book gives well indexed and comprehensive information on
both Conventional and Complementary Managements for Asthma. It should be of great value to
patients with a general interest in their condition. On the other hand, specific sections
can be easily accessed by readers looking for a balanced description of a particular form
of treatment.
I would feel that it also has a major place on the shelves of
every General Practitioner, so that the family doctor can offer his patient sound advice
on the various treatment options that they may hear about.
It is indeed the balance that is shown in this book that is
likely to represent its greatest value, hopefully helping patients to avoid the danger of
dismissing conventional medical advice on alternative therapies on the basis that doctors
are just not interested in these approaches.
For instance, the thorough description of the Buteyko method
identifies the potential benefits of this approach, whilst giving highly appropriate
warnings about the possibly fatal dangers that can arise if certain advice given by some
of the practitioners of this method is adhered to rigidly.
In the section on the Buteyko method there is reference to this
being the most expensive complementary approach described in that section of the book, but
a fair criticism of the book is that there is no real attempt to identify the costs of
each intervention.
Patients may well want to know what expenses they are letting
themselves in for in advance. Clearly this book is intended for worldwide distribution,
but quoting costs in the UK would give an indication of relative costs, whatever country
in which they are based.
The costs of the House Dust Mite Elimination procedures referred
to in this book vary considerably but are potentially huge.
At the same time there is considerable doubt about how effective
these are outside the realms of research studies, which provide enormous monetary and
practical support in the application of the recommendations. It would therefore be useful
for the reader to have an idea of potential expenditure so that they can balance the
possible benefits against costs.
For many families the ideal of eliminating damp and moulds is not
attainable within their limited budget.
There are certainly useful references to the different key
allergens in different regions of the world so that different approaches can be sought in
different environments, although the primary emphasis appears to be on Britain.
Elimination of Cockroaches may be easier to achieve in some cases.
A mark of how up-to-date this book is comes in the recognition of
the lack of benefit from using artificial fibre as opposed to feather filled bedding
– something which has only been recognised in relatively recent times.
The truly comprehensive nature of this book is reflected in the
reference to psychological aspects, including some very stressful issues such a child
abuse and the reference to the importance of exercise in improving asthma.
The short section on appropriate ‘warming up’ exercises
should be conveyed to all teachers taking pupils for PE and Games. Properly followed, this
advice could be the cheapest and safest way of preventing significant physical and
psychological morbidity for children with asthma.
The section on dieting is again comprehensive, looking at several
different approaches to diet. The advice on Elimination Dieting would help any patient
contemplating this often tough form of intervention to understand what ‘they are
letting themselves in for’.
At various points there are very helpful suggestions on how a
patient should manage the ‘sceptical’ GP. An example comes in the section
associating athlete’s foot with asthma, which at first suggestion can be expected to
cause the average GP to freak out. The detailed description of the science behind this is
likely to aid the patient in convincing his doctor that the athlete’s foot does merit
proper treatment.
In our well informed society all patients need to be able to
understand the relative benefits and risks of any treatment that they are about to embark
on so that the ‘Treatment does not end up as being worse than the disease’. At
the very modest cost of £12.99 this book will go a very long way in helping people to
make an informed judgement about the therapeutic options available, be it Conventional
Medicine or a Complementary approach.
About the Reviewer
Dr Michael A. Tettenborn is Consultant Paediatrician at Frimley
Children’s Centre. Dr Tettenborn is a General Paediatrician with a Special Interest
in Asthma, Allergies and Food Intolerances. |
