Tag Archives: Prevention

Conventional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

Posted on March 5, 2012 by aali | 6 comments

While working in a pharmacy, I have realized that many people rely on conventional medicine to get rid of any pain or disease they may be suffering from. Conventional medicine defines health as the “absence of diseases.” These medications’ roles include only treating symptoms rather than their underlying causes. Most people take such medications hoping that it will treat their symptoms and ignore any preventative methods that are out there. For example,

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I notice many patients that come to the pharmacy every week to get certain medications to treat certain symptoms such as pain. Although the conventional treatment does work for them, it does not consider the effect of future side effects that may appear. This is why it is important to look at other options of treatment that have preventative measures as well as prolonged treatment and success in your health in the long run.

Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine as it focuses on preventative treatment and looks at strengthening the body’s own defenses and restores balance. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)defines alternative medicine as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not

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presently considered to be a part of conventional medical treatment.” Some examples of alternative medicine include yoga, massage therapy, herbal medicine and acupuncture. The main role of alternative medicine is to put emphasis on using natural therapies and using the body’s own healing powers rather than relying on drugs and other Western treatments.

According to research done at the University of California at Los Angelas, 75 percent of medical students surveyed think it would be beneficial for conventional medicine to integrate with complementary and alternative medicine.

I think it would be beneficial to incorporate alternative medicine with conventional medicine as it has many advantages. The first key advantage of is to note that there are no side effects. This is because alternative medicine works with the body instead of suppressing certain symptoms like many modern drugs in conventional treatment work. They are also cost effective and “green,” taking into account that it includes natural methods of treatment that can be processed simply.

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In general they help in the overall mind and body healing process so that when diseases occur they can help strengthening resistance towards it. It is something to consider for your overall health and well-being and not just when you get a cold. For further information on the competition between conventional medicine versus alternative medicine take a look at Dr. Muhammad Aslam’s article and his discussion on how alternative medicine “empowers patients.”

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Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged alternative medicine, Conventional Medicine, Healthcare, Prevention

NHL and Concussions – What can be done?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by pnijjer | 4 comments

Brad Marchand illegal hit on Sami Salo (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

The first half of the National Hockey League (NHL) season has been riddled with concussions. Players are being increasingly concussed from legal/illegal hits to the body and head. Just recently, Nathan Horton of the Boston Bruins suffered a concussion, making him the 72nd player this season to suffer one. Based on an average roster size of twenty-three NHL players per team, one in every ten players have already missed games. More than 850 games have been lost as of Sunday due to a concussion.

You may ask why the sudden increase in concussions? Before the lock-out period (2004-2005), concussions were rarely diagnosed and have just recently come to the attention of the league. Players were never examined for concussion symptoms. The increase in concussions also has a lot to do with how the game is played today. In the new era of the NHL, players are bigger and stronger, and wear lighter equipment allowing for a faster paced game. Thus, the games are getting quicker and quicker every year. The velocity at which players hit each other is higher and there are far to many blindside hits and elbows to the head. All of these things are contributing to the rise of concussion related injuries.

What is a Concussion?

Concussion (mild traumatic brain injury) is a brain injury sustained by a blow to the head resulting in traumatic forces being applied to the brain. Upon impact the brain moves violently, suffering structural and internal damage.

Common Symptoms:

Headache
Disoriented
Vomiting, Nausea
Difficult Balancing
Blurred/Double Vision

Animation of an impact to the head.

Each athlete has a different threshold for their susceptibility to concussions. Usually concussion symptoms go away without any treatment. The key to preventing concussion symptoms is to be fully recovered before you hit the ice again. The second time around will be worse and will result in a longer recovery period.

What can be done to prevent concussions?

NHL has recently taken precautionary measurements by introducing a new concussion protocol, making it mandatory for players to be medically examined if they suffer an impact to the head. A concussed player will be immediately removed from the game until they are symptom free. Handing out hefty suspensions to illegal hits to the head are steps in the right direction to discourage hits to the head, but more still needs to be done. The league needs to change the equipment they are using. Helmets alone are not sufficient enough to protect players from concussions. Elbow and shoulder pads should be softened to reduce their effect on players. Also the league should introduce new equipment such as the concussion collar by Dr. Joseph Fisher which could reduce the severity of a hits to the head.

A concussion collar worn by Henrik Tallinder that could help prevent concussions (Photo by Bill Wipper/NHLI via Getty Images)

All of the above safety measures could set the players and the league on a safer course. I feel players are largely responsible for their actions, they need to be more aware of their surroundings. They have less respect for their own safety thinking they are bullet proof.

References:

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Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Brain, Concussions, Injuries, NHL, Prevention, Sports

Prevention is the only solution, but will the South Asian community take intiative?

Posted on January 15, 2012 by aali | 2 comments

Indian sweets Image by: Oksabaro

The South Asian community consists of Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans. Most typical South Asian communities stick to their traditional and cultural values as it is of quite importance to them and their way of life. This also means not changing their diet, which has been shown to impose many health risks. The main risk here is diabetes, which is a chronic illness that occurs when high levels of sugar are present in the blood. With such a chronic disease taking over the South Asian community, it has got me wondering as to what they are doing to combat this risk.

According to Dr. Sohal, South Asians are 3-5 times more likely to have diabetes than compared to the general population in Canada. The major problem here being the types of food they eat on a day-to-day basis. Not only does their diet consist of a large amount of sweets, but also present are foods rich in fats and deep fried foods. From my perspective, these foods are of cultural importance to the South Asian community and changing tradition would be a sign of disbelief. An example of such a culturally valued food would be ghor. Dr. Vinod Patel

Deep-frying Samosas Image by: Kirti Poddar

from the University of Warwick studies the clinical and cultural aspects of diabetes and defines ghor unrefined solid brown sugar that often many Indo-Asians wrongly perceive as a ‘healthy sugar.’ He also found out that South Asians have a poorer understanding about the key features of diabetes prevention. With a lack of giving up tradition and a poor sense of communication, a sense of hope in the South Asian community is far from where it needs to be.

Some important targets into dealing with the high prevalence of diabetes should include community initiatives and educating the South Asian community as to what a nutritious diet is and what alternatives they can look forward to. The biggest concern is for them to accept these tips and to change their lifestyle, but Dr. Julia Lawton has found the opposite in her studies. Dr. Lawton, Professor of Population Health Science at the University of Edinburgh performed a study to observe the eating habits of Pakistanis with diabetes. She mentioned in her results that most had continued to consume the South Asian foods despite their apparent knowledge of the risk it had upon their health. It seems like the South Asian community will not take a stand towards making a change in their diet whether or not they know how dangerous it can be to their health.

The solution to the high prevalence of diabetes in South Asians is prevention. It can come in many forms in order to deal with this situation. Whether it be physical activity or making healthy alternatives, there is a way out of this risky diet and it is up to the South Asians to take responsibility for their actions.

References:

–Dr. Julia Lawton’s research on prevention of Diabetes in South Asians

–What a typical Indo-Asian diet consists of

–“We should change ourselves, but we can’t”

–Dr. Patel’s research on diabetes and South Asian Health

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Posted in Public Engagement

Tagged Diabetes, Healthcare, Prevention, South Asians

Tag Archives: Prevention

Conventional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

NHL and Concussions – What can be done?

Prevention is the only solution, but will the South Asian community take intiative?

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Conventional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

NHL and Concussions – What can be done?

Prevention is the only solution, but will the South Asian community take intiative?

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