There is always the issue of effectiveness – are the drugs effective? medtruth.com estimates the efficacy of pharmaceuticals for treating people with various diseases or illnesses. Efficacy varies between 25 and 65%. This means that pharmaceuticals are not effective between 40 and 75% of the situations. We know that many have side effects and that in some cases side effects are more pronounced than the condition under treatment. They are also expensive. For example, Interferon-Ribavirin treatment for hepatitis C (genotype I) costs over $ 25,000 to cover treatment for one year. In this light, it did not seem unnatural when Allen Roses, a doctor in medicine (vice president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline), made an interesting observation. He said that “our medicines are ineffective on most patients” (Connor, 2003).
There are often negative side effects of pharmaceuticals. around 40% of people taking these modern medicines suffer from various side effects, ranging from mild headaches to kidney damage and death.
An investigation in 2006 involving three hundred practitioners revealed that 70% of them are worried about the safety of the medicines they prescribe, and 78% prefer to prescribe a medicine that has been on the market for at least ten years (Medco Health Solutions).
From 1870 to 1930 we had medical ambulances in America. Today we have advertising through television shows and advertisements from pharmaceutical companies. in many cases, the perception overshadows reality. When a new pharmaceutical drug is promoted, it is perceived as a miraculous remedy. However, as time passes, and side effects occur, the positive perception of the drug is often diminished. Find out more.
To prove the efficacy of phytotherapy medicine is complicated by the fact that each of you is made up of many different chemical components. The “golden” standard in scientific research is the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that was primarily designed to test drugs with a single active ingredient. The diverse nature of constituents, even within the same species, makes it considerably more difficult to force efficacy in controlled trials; Medicines do not behave in the body just like chemicals with a single chemical ingredient. Also, lime quality and complexity of treatment (dosage, duration, compliance, a combination with others) greatly contribute to the efficacy of phytotherapy.
The medical community has difficulties in examining the efficacy of medicinal herbs. Most physicians have been taught that a certain scientific style of research is the only credible, in contrast, most phytotherapists have been taught to research all testimonies (traditional, ethnobotanic, observational, historical and scientific) to obtain safety, efficacy and therapeutic potential of phytotherapeutic medicine.
Efficacy assessment is the issue of safety. The classical definition of a phytotherapeutic adaptogen includes an absence of toxicity. It is remarkable to know that all adaptogens are relatively safe. It should also be said that all substances may have harmful effects in extreme conditions, such as very high doses or chronic abuse patterns (misuse). No substance is unconditionally safe and beneficial in all possible applications.
An example of a traditional medical system that categorizes the body according to safety or potential toxicity is traditional Chinese medicine. Medicinal herbs in Chinese medical matter are divided into three categories, which were discussed in Module 3: (1) Higher medicinal plants are nontoxic and used as tonic remedies, (2) Mineral herbs may have a low toxicity and are used (3) Nursing herbs are toxic remedies and are only used for certain diseases for limited periods of time. Chinese herbs that have been identified as adaptogens are all considered to be superior medicines (Module 7 for additional safety discussion).
When examining the therapeutic treatment of patients, the best result may be the conclusion of a form of complementary medicine in which both pharmaceutical and medicinal products are used, if necessary, their supplementation.
Counterfeit drugs are manufactured by another person or company different from the original manufacturer and which, fraudulently, are mistakenly labeled. These are copies or imitations of original products, manufactured without authorization and without any manufacturing right. The purpose of these so-called manufacturers is to cheat and deceive the consumer, these copies being sold as original medicines. It is estimated that around 10% of medicines on the market worldwide can be counterfeited. Of course, in developed countries, counterfeit drugs are at a smaller percentage, about 1%, but in recent years this percentage is increasing. In Africa and in some Latin American countries, about 30% of the market is occupied by counterfeit medicines. Globally, on illegal sites, more than 50% of sold drugs are counterfeited.