Integrative Medicine; Holistic Healthcare for Children
A report about the study in The Age newspaper stated that one in 10 parents do not trust GPs with their child’s care and many GP’s are not confident in treating chronic illness.The survey conducted at the Royal Children’s and Monash Children’s hospitals in 2014 and 2015 found only 45 per cent of parents were “completely confident” in their GP providing general paediatric care. The survey published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health thought that the reason behind this was that perhaps the GPs work load focused more chronic diseases among Australia’s ageing population. 60 per cent referred a child to a specialist because they did not feel comfortable caring for children with chronic and complex condition such as migraines or asthma. One in four said they referred because they had insufficient time to manage the child.
Why many parents are turning to Complementary Medicine
The 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) revealed that over 11% of children had used or been given some form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine product or practice, such as yoga or dietary supplements. Most of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine health approaches were used for:
- Back or neck pain
- Other musculoskeletal conditions
- Head or chest colds
- Anxiety or stress
- ADHD
- Insomnia
So why more parents are turning to practitioners of Integrative medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine. For example, take the case of a child with eczema who may be treated by conventional topical steroid cream, but the root cause may be stress and using one or a combination of Kinesiology or Massage Therapy or Aromatherapy in an integrative healthcare setting may solve the problem. Please note there are no alternatives to Emergency medicine – conventional care is the only answer.
The Benefits of Integrative healthcare
Integrative medicine (IM) doctors look at children’s health issues holistically; it is a unique and completely safe way to look after kid’s health.Complementary and Alternative Medicine provide healing treatment that brings positive changes in the whole body.Integrative medicine doctors use current evidence-based information, applications and contra-indications of Complementary and Alternative Medicine when formulating treatment plans. IM doctors also spend extra time by taking an in-depth case history to determine the underlying cause of ill-health. Integrative medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine highlights every matter concerned with the child’s health ranging from diet to sleep, the stress of schoolwork etc. Practitioners of Integrative medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine try to understand children holistically by taking into account the social, psychological, environmental and spiritual aspects of health and illness. They interweave both conventional care with traditional and alternative medicine creating comprehensive, safe, and efficacious treatment plans to help children heal.