Chapter 16 Consumerism Selecting Health Care Products and

Chapter 16 Consumerism Selecting Health Care Products and Services

Responsible Consumerism • Choices and challenges • Multitude and choices • People take a little truth and formulate a too-good- to-betrue product • Attracting Consumer's Dollar $$$$$$ • Ads are designed to make you feel bad about yourself

Ads • Will have friends, fun and a completely different lifestyle • Use beautiful people / unrealistic connections • Sports cars, perfumes, drinking beer and smoking

Reality and Medicine • Spontaneous Remission (if you treat a cold it will last a week; if you leave it alone it will last 7 days) • Problem will just disappear without intervention • Colds, flu, some back pain, etc….

It’s A Miracle! • Others like multiple sclerosis and cancer can alternate between severe symptoms and sudden remission • These factors can be exploited - their cure is the reason for the cure! • Really no effect at all but it can be attributed to the miracle treatment

I Believe • Placebo Effect • Faith Healing - if you believe that it will work it will……. to a certain degree • Sugar pills • 10% are highly susceptible to the power of suggestion • 90% to a varying degree

Don’t Be A Victim • Victimised by aggressive marketing • Can generate millions of dollars in revenue • Dangerous because they may replace important medical treatments

Accepting Responsibility for Your Health Care Learning how and when to enter the Health Care System:

When Should You Get Help? When the injury or condition is: • • unfamiliar serious persistent unpleasant painful involves blood acute pain

Health • • • Self-help or Self-Care Primary Prevention Individual is Responsible for their health • Determine their health status and the changes that may occur • When to seek help? • 5% of people with active chronic disease get professional help • 95% treat themselves

Assessing Health Professionals Choose someone based on: • Education, licence or board certification • Affiliation with an accredited medical facility or institution • Canadian Council on Health Facilities Accreditation - check all medical personal before hiring

Assessing Health Professionals Choose someone based on: • give a clear indication to how long the treatment will last • have you return without any information no end in sight • Do their diagnosis, treatments, and general statements appear to be consistent with established scientific theory or practice

Assessing Health Professionals Choose someone based on: • Do they listen? Respect you as an individual? Let you ask questions? • Write your questions ahead of time, do not accept a defensive or hostile response - IT IS YOUR RIGHT

CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT • Practised for over 100 years • Practice restricted by medical community • Relationship has improved last 10 years • Provincial Health and Insurance cover some procedures • Basis - life-giving energy passes through the spine via nervous system • A spine that is misaligned interferes with this life energy force

CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT • Effective for lower back pain, neck pain, and headaches • Effective in reducing some forms of chronic pain (non-drug induced) • Should be checked out as well • Reputation / references

Acupuncture • • 2000 years old Insert fine needles at points on the skin 14 major pathways of energy Points are associated with specific organs or body functions • Restores the flow of equilibrium in the body Effective for treating: • Chronic Pain • Temp. Blocking of acute pain

Acupuncture • • • Addictions Asthma Infections Arthritis Smoking • Needles must be discarded • Ask the question!

Herbalists and Homeopathy • • • Medicinal qualities of plants and herbs Homeopaths use minerals and chemicals Dilute potent natural agents Cause disease symptoms in the healthy But will cure the symptoms in the unhealthy

Herbalists and Homeopathy • Caution - these types of treatment can be dangerous • Plants can be poisonous and/or toxic • Drug store natural remedies?

Naturopathy • Illness from violations of nature's principles • Treatments from substances found in water, magnets, gravity, heat, crystals and minerals, herbs and the sun • Call themselves “Doctors”, although many are not MD’s but are ND’s • Check credentials carefully