Published on February 8, 2010, 4:01 am
Features
Diana Baynes asks whether patients with illnesses such as lupus should be given the option to have homeopathic treatments.

"Everyone should have a choice on how they wish to be cured."

This statement made by complimentary therapist and teacher, Diana Baynes, raises the question of whether patients with illnesses such as lupus should be given the option to have homeopathic treatments.

In a recent story in The Times and Daily Telegraph health officials and scientists claimed that herbal medicines can be risky for patients with heart diseases. Apparently, certain herbal remedies such as St John's Wort have been known to interfere with prescribed medications used to treat patients with heart problems.

This may explain why doctors in hospitals are reluctant to offer complimentary medicine to patients with medical conditions such as lupus. However, according to Stephen Ssali, the director of the herbal remedies company Mariandina, doctors have insufficient knowledge on natural remedies, and its power to assist conditions such as lupus.

"Doctors lack knowledge on natural remedies and its effects for ill patients... [they] are only taught five hours on nutrition during the five years of their training." He added:

"Prescribed medicines result in more aggression and more damage long term to a patient's body. Herbs and minerals help the body to heal itself naturally, providing a way to regenerate your cells but prescription medicine causes a lot more damage than good."

The report The Influence of Pharmaceutical Industry on Healthcare Practitioners Prescribing Habits by James Rhee from the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at Eastern Virginia Medical School revealed that pharmaceutical companies invest billions into new medications and therefore rely on doctors to market these drugs by prescribing them to their patients.

According to statistics from the NHS, the number of prescription items that were dispensed by community pharmacies in England, between 2008 to 2009 increased by 6.3 per cent to 771.5 million. These figures show that doctors are more inclined to promote prescription drugs instead of offering alternative remedies that are not marketed by pharmaceutical companies.

Ssali told People with Voices that many patients suffer from iatrogenic disorders - illnesses caused by inappropriate treatment or midiagnosis by doctors using prescribed medicines.

"A lot of trials carried out by these companies have been left uncompleted without fully engaging in all the side effects of these new treatments. Some of these drugs are so toxic that a lot of patients die just from utilising toxicity."

According to qualified Nutrition Paulette Gatt, the founder of Well Well Well 777, it is important to treat the whole body through the health triangle, which is the mind, body and spirit. Gatt believes that emotional and spiritual healing is essential to healing the whole body no matter what illness a patient suffers from.

"If you are at war with someone and you're living in stress, you are releasing hormones in the body that shouldn't be there and that will hamper your immune system. Therefore, it is important for your spirit to be at peace.

"A deep meaningful relationship with God, emptying of impure thoughts and meditation on pure and positive things can aid healing physically as well as emotionally."

Over the last 10 years, alternative remedies for lupus patients have become very popular due to patients becoming more sceptical to the side effects caused by the prescribed medicines for keeping the illness under control.

As a lupus sufferer myself, I can testify that prescription medication has many side effects that can cause serious harm to other parts of the body. I have been taking the medication Prednisolone continuously for 10 years and as a result I have developed osteoporosis, which causes the bones to become brittle and weak.

Common medications for lupus include anti- malaria drugs such as hydroxychloroquine sulphate, Meprecrine and steroid drugs such as Prednisolone. These medications like most prescribed drugs can cause a range of side effects that range from mild to serious.

By contrast, homeopathic treatments pose no risks to patients as the products used to make up the treatments come from natural ingredients such as fish oils, vegetables and fruit.

Lupus patient Louise, from East London noticed a major difference in her health once she started to take herbal medicines.

"I was unable to go downstairs and lived upstairs for many months. Three weeks after taking Mariandina , [a natural medicine] I was able to use the stairs myself and move freely around the house."

Alternative medicines are not a first choice option for doctors who prescribe medicines to patients, but Baynes believes that every patient should be given the choice of whether or not to try natural remedies.

"People respond to different treatments in different ways and they should be able to choose the best possible medication whether it be natural or prescribed by a doctor for themselves."