Limits on Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Limits on Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
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Dear State Senator,
SUBJECT: Limits on Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
I am writing to you on behalf of the consortium of pediatricians in our state, to express our concerns regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by children with chronic conditions. As you may know, recent studies have shown that more than half of these children use CAM alongside conventional treatments, and an additional ten percent use CAM before seeking conventional treatment.
There are several reasons that parents and people in the general population resort to the use of CAM. For example, Ventola (2010) highlights that diet supplements and disease management are some of the issues that cause patients to resort to CAM. In both cases the aspect of being natural appeals to the users because the medicine is usually required for long-term use. As a diet supplement, patients may take the medicine for several years in order to gain and maintain the desired impact. Similarly, the study found that when CAMs are taken due to disease, they are used to manage chronic or recurrent illnesses. Consequently, Ventola (2010) asserts that CAM is likely to be used by children or patients with poor health status. Patients with poor health status are also the most likely to visit healthcare centers where they can obtain conventional medicine to treat their conditions. However, while we recognize that some forms of CAM may offer benefits to children, we are concerned about the potential risks associated with their use, particularly when combined with conventional treatments.
A key issue that concerns the members of the consortium is that many parents do not disclose to their child's pediatrician that they are using CAM. The situation is worse because it has been found that even when asked, the parents are unlikely to offer the information, which increases the risk of potentially dangerous interactions between the two types of therapies (Adams et al., 2013). This is particularly concerning because many CAM therapies can interact with conventional treatments, either by reducing their effectiveness, increasing their side effects, or even causing potentially life-threatening reactions. For example, some herbal supplements used in CAM therapies can interfere with the way that prescription drugs are metabolized by the liver, leading to dangerously high levels of the drugs in the bloodstream. Other CAM therapies, such as acupuncture or chiropractic treatments, can cause physical side effects that may worsen a child's condition if they are not properly monitored by a healthcare provider. Lack of information from the parent can make it difficult for healthcare providers to identify potential interactions between conventional treatments and CAM, and can put children at risk for serious health complications. We believe that to address this issue, it is important for parents to be transparent with their child's healthcare provider about all forms of...