Re: [india-drug] Promoting complimentary medicines on internet (3)

["Anuradha Banerji" <anuradhabee@yahoo.co.uk>]

Promoting complimentary medicines on internet (3)
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Dear members,

  This is definitely a serious problem - as they say little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It is a general assumption that alternate medicine has no side effects. What people need to know that it does have side effects and the way the medicine is administered, dosage etc is very important. Advocacy on the subject is a way out- at least it would be some effort in the direction of public information. Liberal distribution of IEC material and advocacy efforts by the media (electronic) would certainly be a step towards creating awareness.

  Regards

  A.Banerji
** please add profession & affiliation**

MIRA DESAI <desaimirak@yahoo.co.in> wrote:
  Promoting complimentary medicines on internet (1)
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Dear members,

I request all the members to comment / debate to the following news published in Medical journal of Australia. These practices may soon be a public health hazard as well as risk to the individual patient . This can also be a problem in our country too. In view of public health protection do we have any guidelines to help net surfers judge medical information on the web? 

?Promoting complementary medicines on the internet?

Recently an elderly man died after swallowing 10,000 times the daily dose of an antioxidant recommended as an alternative prostate cancer treatment on the internet. This case has been used to highlight the dangers of promoting complementary medicines on the internet without adequate instructions.
He found websites discussing the benefits of selenium, an essential but highly toxic trace element found at low levels in seafood, grains and eggs. The element is marketed as a health supplement but the man mistakenly purchased sodium selenite powder used primarily as a supplement for livestock.
This case highlights that the risks associated with failure to critically evaluate internet material and exposes the myth that natural therapies are inherently safe. Adverse outcomes of complementary and alternative medicines should be better publicized and more stringently reported to the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee.

Dr Mira Desai
Professor
B J Medical College,
Ahmedabad.
MIRA DESAI 



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