Alternative Therapies

Raphael Pascale, A.S.A. volunteer Roberto Adamoli, Centro Poiesis operator Don Coene, physician

We define as conventional such therapies established by the National Italian ealth Service. Alternative therapies, or unconventional, use means and methods !hich, almost "enerally, are not reco"ni#ed by the National Italian ealth Service.

Why do people choose an unconventional practitioner? $here are several reasons for addressin" an unconventional practitioner%

&ne mi"ht believe in a values system reflectin" in unconventional treatment. &ne mi"ht consider unconventional therapy as complement of a traditional one. &ne mi"ht not respond 'or respond anymore( to conventional therapies. )edical Science 'the standard medical treatment( is unable to cure AIDS* this mi"ht inspire some persons to "o and loo+ out for ne! options.

Effects of Unconventional Therapies on AIDS We have to say fran+ly that there is no unconventional therapy able to cure AIDS, even thou"h sometimes, someone erroneously claims this. Nevertheless, some persons can dra! several benefits follo!in" an unconventional therapy. A "reat number of these therapies, besides fi"htin" some troubles sho!in" up !ith AIDS, also produce, due to psycholo"ical reasons, the effect to have persons stayin" better. $his !ay, unconventional therapies can help to improve the ,uality of life. At the same time, it could come that you -d li+e to try everythin" to "et healthy a"ain. In this case you run the ris+ to contact operators !ho ta+e advanta"e of your fear. &bviously, this ris+ of dependence, in !hich you could run into, could also occurr in case of a conventional medical treatment.

Unconventional Therapies advantage and disadvantage $he advanta"e of the unconventional approach consists in the offer of supplementary option !ith respect to those of conventional medical science. $he advanta"es also lead persons practicin" unconventional therapies to ta+e "reater responsibility in follo!in" the treatment. Amon" disadvanta"es, there is a ris+ by some unconventional therapists !ho aim to refuse the !hole conventional medical science and its positive results. Some unconventional therapists affirm that the situation in !hich you mi"ht be depends upon you and on the fact you are unable to cure yourself. $his is absurd. $o thin+ this !ay is dan"erous for you and for your disease. /0nconventional/ and /conventional/ physicians, may sometimes also be at odds. Nevertheless it is not essential to choose bet!een one or another. It is surely possible to find a combination of the t!o approaches, !hich enables to "ain advanta"e from both.

Choosing an unconventional therapy $here are many unconventional therapies, adoptin" different methods !ith different results accordin" to disturbs. So, the most important advice !e may "ive to you is% "et information about a treatment, "et advice from your physician and discuss it !ith a specialist. o!ever, the ris+ of entrustin" an incompetent al!ays e1ists. It may happen a therapy to "ive illusory hope or to be too e1pensive or that the therapist is not ,ualified. $o reduce these ris+s as far as possible, !e have listed belo! a se,uence of su""estions to follo! and some ,uestions to as+ before you choose for an unconventional option. $his lon" list it may be loo+ed at as a too sceptic attitude* nevertheless, it has not the aim to +eep you far from an unconventional therapist% it is about re,uests that you mi"ht also ma+e to a conventional therapist.

Overall advices:

We !armly su""est you not to renounce to the collaboration !ith your conventional practitioner. Do mistrust of unconventional therapists !ho re,uire this renounce from you. )a+e sure that all persons helpin" you are in contact each others, in order to avoid that the different therapies may influence one another.

If you "o for a visit to an unconventional therapist, your practitioner mi"ht be disturbed. Althou"h this is troublesome, don- t be depressed. $he most important thin" is insistin", in order to create a mutual !ay of consultation. Pic+ up informations from different points of vie!, not by the therapist only. A sin"le treatment is not !or+in" for everyone% if a treatment !or+ed !ell for others, it is not shure it !or+s !ell for you. And above all% +eep a critical spirit.

A out treat!ent !ethods and results

In conventional therapy there is the habit to verify results by means of controls over many persons and by means of statistical controls. &ften unconventional therapists cite one or ma1imum a fe! persons, they may have cured 'a sort of /miraculous recovery/(. Since there are no effective researches, results of unconventional therapies remain dubious. $his also happens due to some health improvements occurrin" spontaneously. In addition, than+s to placebo effect improvements are possible. Placebo is a neutral substance, !ithout active compounds, !hich is administered as a dru". $he effect of such /dru"/ is based on the confidence that the person has !ith this dru". In fact, every dru" may have a part of placebo effect. &ften a therapy 'e.". acupuncture( is effective in a specific area 'pain(, but not in others. Choose a therapy, !hich adapts itself to your !ay of livin", to your situation and above all to your needs. $ry to obtain the most documented information possible on the therapy you are evaluatin" and on the concept of disease by therapists practicin" it. Some therapies may not sho! results. Sometimes a therapist says% / It-s up to medical science to demonstrate that there is no sense in !hat !e are doin"/. )istrust this +ind of therapies, because if it could constantly obtain "ood results, those !ould be demonstrable. Some therapies re,uire a complete chan"e of your lifestyle, for e1ample !ith respect to your diet, your behavior or hobbies. Initially this chan"e may be a too heavy sacrifice for you and may estran"e from your habitat. 2ut, you may choose it if you feel it really belon"s to you. Do not start a therapy that as+s you to do abusive or secret actions. 2e!are of therapists !ho claim to cure you from AIDS.

A out the unconventional therapist 2efore "oin" to a therapist, it is "ood to have ans!ers for follo!in" ,uestions%

What +ind of a professional trainin", ,ualifications or treatment e1periences has the unconventional therapist !hom you are addressin"3 What does he4she +no! about AIDS3 Did he4she already have some treatment e1perience on AIDS infected persons3 What +ind of results did he4she have3 Do you "et alon" !ith him4her3 Do you thin+ to establish an e,ual term relation !ith him4her3 Do you feel that he4she ta+es advanta"e of some of your fears3 Does he4she a"ree to +eep a correspondence !ith your conventional practitioner3 Are you able to contact !ith other persons '!ith AIDS( !hom follo!ed a treatment !ith him4her3 Are there other unconventional therapists !ho recommend this person3 Is the therapist able to clearly e1plain his4hers thou"hts, the treatment he4she is proposin", the number of treatment cycles you should foresee and the results you may e1pect, besides costs3 Is it possible to have a first test treatment3 $he fact that a therapist is /,ualified/ doesn- t say much of his4her abilities. $he needs imposed to therapists for their re"istration to professional boards differ in relation to the +ind of therapy proposed. Sometimes, indeed, the therapist has to follo! a lon" trainin", as for acupuncture, homeopathy and antroposophy. 5or other therapies, instead, it is enou"h to pay a contribution for re"istration '"et informed and reflect about this point(.

When to start a therapy )a+e out before 'alon" !ith therapist( the period durin" !hich you !ant to follo! the therapy. &bserve, after this first trial period, the results obtained and only then decide if to continue the therapy or not. $his method has a supplementary advanta"e since you !ill not al!ays be on treatment and you !ill have periods !here you mi"ht evaluate the results. 6stablish in advance !hich results you !ish to reach and the !ay you may chec+ !hether you have reached them. 6ventually !rite do!n all this thou"hts. It could be useful to you to ta+e notes durin" the therapy in relation to% ho! it is proceedin", !hich results, etc3* this !ay you-ll have a better vision. In addition, you mi"ht use a "reat part of su""estions and ,uestions in the relation !ith your conventional practitioner also. Remind that at present conventional medicine may do much a"ainst I7 infection and opportunistic diseases. So, if you don- t see any results !ith unconventional therapies, do not insist% stop and choose somethin" else.

Cost of Unconventional Therapies $here are no fi1ed char"es. Since these costs often chan"e, +eep informed in advance by the practitioner !ho prescribes them and, as a confirm, as+ a sector-s operator or some AIDS or"ani#ation dealin" !ith unconventional therapies 'see addresses at the end of the manual(. 6stablish therapy costs in advance, the len"th of a sittin" and the number of sittin"s. Put all this in blac+ and !hite. As+ for a receipt after each sittin" 'to prove you have payed and if possible to deduce from ta1es(

Therapies and therapists o servatory Considerin" that data and trust!orthy studies about unconventional therapies are lac+in", it is important to pic+ up all the available information to better inform persons !ith I7 and AIDS. We therefore as+ you to indicate to one of the or"ani#ations dealin" !ith unconventional therapies your possible, positive or ne"ative, e1perience !ith non8conventional therapies. $his allo!s us to inform more authoritatively persons that are addressin" to us. 5urther, it !ill help us to identify promisin" therapies for !hich to propose studies and also uneffective therapies, in order not to repeat the mista+es already made.

SO"E T#E$A%IES &$IE'() 2elo! you !ill find brief descriptions of some unconventional therapies. Describin" them, !e abstain from comments and recommendations in relation to their possible treatment effectiveness. It is our purpose to provide an overall information.

%hytotherapy Phytotherapy is based on the use of plant e1tracts. It is a traditional system, spread all over the !orld, in different !ays accordin" to local plants. 2efore conventional medicine, these !ere our dru"s* for some it yet remains an important terapeuthic resource. We all are used to see shelves full of 9ars and herbal teas pac+a"es, decoctions, infusions and other herbal based preparations in chemistries and in health food

stores. In our country there is no modern le"islation on phytotherapeutic products, thus it is not easy to find one-s bearin" in the 9un"le of preparations the mar+et is offerin". 5urther, due to a lac+ of positive and pro9ective attention by our medical8 scientific authorities, there are no points of reference for the real evaluation of effectiveness and safety of preparations. In this situation you may find side by side plants !ith a li"ht terapeuthic effect and plants !ith a stron" one, "ood enou"h products and substances that may present side effects and to1icity, !ithout this bein" documented or e1plained. $his is a serious lac+ !hich underscores the need to find a therapist !ho represents a "ood point of reference for anyone !ho decides to use phytotherapy. It is important to turn to a practitioner !ho +no!s plants, but this is not enou"h% he also has to +no! about I7 infection, since the immune system is a comple1 reality and the use of the !ron" therapy may cause troubles, rather than benefits. Durin" the last years tens of ve"etal ori"in e1tracts used a"ainst I7 infection have been studied. )any of them revealed unusable, other to1ic, other ones seem to represent a resource and are therefore still under e1amination. 0sually only a practitioner is able to +no! the research trend and the specific effects of a preparation. $herefore, do turn to an e1pert practitioner, !ho is available to ans!er all your ,uestions* be!are of a superficial practitioner !ho doesn- t clearly tell you about the effect of the therapies he su""ests. )edicine is not !i#ard and if someone prescribes some substances, he or she has to be able to e1plain to the patient !hy.

#o!eopathy It is a medical discipline based on the similars la!%/ similar cures similar/. omeopathy, indeed, different from conventional medicine 'called /allopathic/ by homeopathists(, doesn-t cure usin" anta"onist substances of the disease, but throu"h dru"s !hich induce the same symptoms as the disease. $hese, administered in infinitesimal dilutions 'the more diluted, accordin" to heomeopathists, the more po!erful(, may stimulate the or"anism to produce defenses on its o!n. $he profound cause of the disease is dia"nosticated by a comple1 system of indicators, physical, psycholo"ical and of health history of every sin"le person. omeopathy is also !idely spread in our country !here, recently, homeopathic dru"s have been reco"ni#ed. In homeopathic area, for I7 infection treatment also, there are different therapeutic orientations%

0nicists prescribe a medical remedy for once, dependin" upon patholo"y* Pluralists prescribe several homeopathic dru"s in different administrations and times* Comple1ists prescribe several homeopathic dru"s simultaneously in a sin"le formulation.

$his is an important distinction. A unicist homeopathist doesn-t forecast the use of standard remedies and treatment protocols, retainin" that each person has its o!n remedy. Pluralist therapists and comple1ists instead use also products prepared for a specific disease 'and therefore not for the sin"le patient(, retainin" that in some situations 'as seropositivity( valid remedies e1ist any!ay.

Traditional Chinese "edicine *TC"+ It is a comple1 system of dia"nosis, prevention and cure of diseases established durin" centuries in China, !hich is currently also used as a terapeuthic resource by hundred thousands of people. Chinese medicine has !or+ed out an articulated theory, !hich is based on the e1istence of ener"etic meridians in our body and on vital ener"y. $o act therapeutically on this vital ener"y, $raditional Chinese )edicine employs acupuncture and mo1a, massa"e or also rela1ation and meditation techni,ues ':i8 "on", $ai8,i8chuan, etc.(. It also uses different medical herbs, alone or in combination. 5inally, "reat importance is assi"ned to the diet. In the last decades $C) 'and particularly, acupuncture( has "otten +no!n in the West, !here it is practiced by many physicians. In some !estern countries it is studied and used also in hospitals. It is the most lar"ely tested medical system 'to"ether !ith phytotherapy( a"ainst I7 virus and AIDS, for !hich various methods have been set. &nly an $C) practitioner may seriously !or+ out an intervention strate"y a"ainst I7 infection, !hile self8prescription and /to follo! the advice of a friend/ usually don-t produce any particular results and the ris+ to e1posure to possible to1ic or adverse effects e1ists.

Other Therapies

$here are many other complementary traditional therapies* some of them practiced here in Italy. We cite only t!o of them, rather diffused ones%

$ibetan )edicine, !hich is the traditional medicine of $ibet% it acts on lifestyle and nutrition and employs herbes, medicated baths, physical therapies, etc3 Ayurvedic )edicine 'Ayurveda is a Sans+rit term !hich means /science of life/(% the traditional Indian medicine for !hich ealth is meant as physical and psychic happiness. It uses herbes, hy"ienic principles, meditation, massa"e, etc3. In Italy there is a "reat availability of Ayurvedic products, !hile it is more difficult to find an e1pert practitioner in Ayurveda, !hich is ho!ever important for anyone decidin" to use this +ind of therapy.

&ody techni,ues Ancients used to have a proverb !hich properly summari#ed the concept of stron" unity bet!een mind and body% /)ens sana in corpore sano/, that is the more our body is in a "ood health, the more our mind, our psyche !ill be /!ell/ and vice versa. $his concept, for"otten for much time by !estern medicine, is "oin" to return in fashion. In traditional medicines of many other populations and in particular of the oriental one, it has al!ays been present. Some body or mind practices are considered an inte"rative part of therapies for all +ind of troubles and it is su""ested to practice them daily to stay in "ood health. &ther practices of the same +ind, but based on modern principles, are studied and proposed continuously. $here are many body techni,ues no! indeed !ith bi" or small differences, but here !e !ill only treat mainly spread ones and particularly su""ested to seropositive persons.

-i gong :i, for Chinese, is the vital ener"y, therefore :i8"on" in Chinese means appro1imately /!or+ on ener"y/. $his name involves many traditional movement, respiration and rela1ation practices of Chinese ori"in. :i "on" implies deep respiration e1ercises !hich brin" about a massa"e of the internal or"ans* mind e1ercises teachin" to be a!are of one-s o!n or"anism, to control movements and to develope one-s o!n vital ener"y* rela1ation e1ercises have the main "oal to enhance our internal ener"y, often dissipated in unnatural rhythms and !ays of life and tensions.

Durin" e1ercises, the o1y"en consumption stron"ly decreases, slo!in" do!n metabolism 8 that is the consumption of our internal ener"y 8 and this allo!s to fill our empty reserves and thus to increase our force. $o "ive results, :i "oin", as all disciplines, needs constancy and daily practice.

Acupressure It is a techni,ue, allo!in" to practice acupuncture !ithout needles% indeed, instead of these, the fin"er pressure is used on points indicated for symptoms !hich have to be cured or effects that have to be obtained. Acupressure may therefore be used also to stimulate the immune system. It is not a simple techni,ue and it needs years of study to become a specialist% nevertheless, it is possible to learn some basic elements and some points to intervene also on one-s o!n to relief from some complaints.

$efle.ology Refle1olo"y is a massa"e therapy of the feet /refle1 #one/. $he purpose is to re8 estalish a perfect functionin" of the or"ans, !hich have lost their re"ular functions !ith time. It is not means, in literally sense, of /feet massa"e/ but of a se,uence of thumb pressure treatment over the correspondin" points of various or"ans of the body 'refle1 #one, precisely(, provo+in" an increase of blood sprin+lin".

)oga It is a comple1 discipline, both physical and spiritual, comin" from India !hich aims to "et a person to be free from pain and disease throu"h meditation and practice of some physical e1ercises. $here are several +inds of yo"a developin" various aspects of the person. 5urther the yo"i 'teachers( often bears some personal variants of their teachin". In this conte1t it is therefore difficult to treat the ar"ument more diffusely.

$ei/i

It is one of the most ancient methods of hands imposition, rediscovered in ;apan since about t!o centuries. In ;apanese Rei+i means /vital ener"y/% ener"y flo!in" in our body and livin" in everythin". $he supporter of this techni,ue affirms that throu"h Rei+i it is possible to boost and to re"ulate the o!n vital ener"y in all parts of the body, ma+in" deto1ifications processes, miti"atin" stron" and chronic pains and inducin" a deep rela1ation. It is one of those techni,ues for !hich it is important to carefully choose the o!n therapist4instructor.

"assage $here are several massa"e techni,ues, !hich are rema+ed to as many settin"8up and !hich are purposed to different tar"ets. $here are tecni,ues, !hich favour the ener"y circulation stimulation of the inside or"anism, techni,ues set !ith a "reater e1tent the attention on the importance of muscle relation and many others. $his listin" mi"ht continue a"ain and become very lon"% from therapies, usin" music, dance, colors, to particular techni,ues comin" from countries and philosophies very different from ours. &f course, to approach some of these disciplines may be an interestin" discover, a "ood company and above all an optimal !ay to +eep the psychophysical balance.

Autogenous training It is a techni,ue !ith the purpose to teach muscle relation and psyche as a conse,uence. It aims to release tensions accumulated at a psychophysical level, tensions, !hich may influence ne"atively vital and psycholo"ical functions. Auto"enous trainin" helps to re"ulate blood pressure, to reduce the cholesterol rate, to increase the or"anic defenses and it "ives ener"y and vitality. It may help to eliminate an1iety, fear, emotional bloc+s and simultaneously to increase one-s o!n confidence.

Source% A.S.A.* Commissione 6uropea* 5onda#ione Au"ustus /Il tuo manuale. Nuova 6di#ione/ <==>% cap. ?