Many HIV Patients Turn to Alternatives
Many HIV Patients Turn to Alternatives
Oct. 10, 2000 -- Many people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are turning to alternative treatments -- in addition to conventional ones -- to help alleviate symptoms including pain. But just how many people are trying things like herbs, massage, or acupuncture and, more importantly, do they work? Two new studies appearing in a recent edition of the journal Alternative Therapies say they do -- to a certain extent.
In one study of nearly 1,000 HIV patients in Australia, researchers not only wanted to know how many people were using alternative therapies but why they were using them. "The aim of the research was to determine the extent to which people use alternative therapies" instead of or in conjunction with traditional ones -- especially antiretroviral treatments commonly used to halt the spread of the disease, researcher Richard de Visser tells WebMD. De Visser is a doctoral candidate and project officer at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health, and Society at La Trobe University in Melbourne.
The researchers found subjects were using alternative treatments including nutritional supplements, diet modification, herbal remedies, massage, and meditation and prayer. The study did not include acupuncture. De Visser says the two major findings were that more than half of all those studied -- 56% -- use alternative therapies, and they're usually used along with antiretroviral drugs. "It is therefore not surprising that [HIV patients] had favorable attitudes to both antiretroviral drugs and alternative therapies," de Visser says.
De Visser also says they found most people do not make an either/or choice between alternative therapies and antiretroviral drugs. Instead, they choose therapies that will best enable them to minimize the side effects of both their disease and medications, and enhance their general well-being. "Taking a holistic approach and being actively involved in health care decision making appears to be important for [these patients], and may be important for people with other chronic conditions," de Visser says.
At the Yale School of Nursing, researchers studied 11 people with HIV to see if acupuncture helped relieve symptoms -- such as pain -- and improve their quality of life as a result. Researcher Margaret W. Beal, PhD, says it did. Typically, acupuncture involves penetration of specific locations on the skin -- called acupuncture points -- by thin, sterilized needles.
Many HIV Patients Turn to Alternatives
Oct. 10, 2000 -- Many people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are turning to alternative treatments -- in addition to conventional ones -- to help alleviate symptoms including pain. But just how many people are trying things like herbs, massage, or acupuncture and, more importantly, do they work? Two new studies appearing in a recent edition of the journal Alternative Therapies say they do -- to a certain extent.
In one study of nearly 1,000 HIV patients in Australia, researchers not only wanted to know how many people were using alternative therapies but why they were using them. "The aim of the research was to determine the extent to which people use alternative therapies" instead of or in conjunction with traditional ones -- especially antiretroviral treatments commonly used to halt the spread of the disease, researcher Richard de Visser tells WebMD. De Visser is a doctoral candidate and project officer at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health, and Society at La Trobe University in Melbourne.
The researchers found subjects were using alternative treatments including nutritional supplements, diet modification, herbal remedies, massage, and meditation and prayer. The study did not include acupuncture. De Visser says the two major findings were that more than half of all those studied -- 56% -- use alternative therapies, and they're usually used along with antiretroviral drugs. "It is therefore not surprising that [HIV patients] had favorable attitudes to both antiretroviral drugs and alternative therapies," de Visser says.
De Visser also says they found most people do not make an either/or choice between alternative therapies and antiretroviral drugs. Instead, they choose therapies that will best enable them to minimize the side effects of both their disease and medications, and enhance their general well-being. "Taking a holistic approach and being actively involved in health care decision making appears to be important for [these patients], and may be important for people with other chronic conditions," de Visser says.
At the Yale School of Nursing, researchers studied 11 people with HIV to see if acupuncture helped relieve symptoms -- such as pain -- and improve their quality of life as a result. Researcher Margaret W. Beal, PhD, says it did. Typically, acupuncture involves penetration of specific locations on the skin -- called acupuncture points -- by thin, sterilized needles.
