Almost half of rural North Carolina use home remedies

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http://www.vidyya.com/vol6/v6i84_4.htm Almost half of rural North Carolina

Adults report using 'home remedies'Almost half of rural North Carolina Adults

report using 'home remedies' Almost half of the adults in rural western North

Carolina use home remedies, not only for specific ailments but also to enhance

their mental health and general well-being, according a report by a Wake Forest

University Baptist Medical Center researcher and his colleagues in the current

issue of Complementary Health Practice Review. Remedies involving honey, lemon,

vinegar or whiskey – used alone or in combination – were the most prevalent,

followed by herbs, teas and other " traditional " cures, according to a team led

by Thomas A. Arcury, Ph.D. Arcury said the research has implications for how

clinicians treat their patients. " A clinician treating someone may ask, 'Are you

using an alternative treatment?' 'Are you going to an acupuncturist?' 'Are you

using herbs?' But, many patients may not think of

home remedies as alternative treatments, and the physician may not think to ask

about specific home remedies that may have an affect, " he said. " For example, a

physician would need to know if someone is treating diabetes with honey. " The

study found that the widespread rural use of home remedies contrasted sharply

with the use of alternative therapists such as acupuncturists, chiropractors and

herbalists, which was estimated at only 8.6 percent. " That people are using home

remedies – and they're not using the alternatives that end up being talked

about in the press a lot – that, to me, is the important finding of this

study, " said Arcury, a professor of family medicine. " Honey, lemon, vinegar,

whiskey – they are traditional remedies. They are things people grew up using.

They are things I was given when I was a kid; when I had a cold, my father gave

me lemon and honey. " The study's objectives were to estimate the prevalence of

complementary and alternative medicine use among

rural adults, identify characteristics of the adults who use such alternatives,

and analyze the health conditions for which alternative medicines and therapies

are being used. Data were collected as part of the larger Mountain Accessibility

Project, which surveyed adults in 12 rural counties of North Carolina to assess

the geographic, social, cultural and health status factors affecting the use of

health care services. Respondents were asked specifically about any home

remedies they might use. They described 238 distinct remedies that researchers

put into eight " remedy " groups: honey-lemon-vinegar-whiskey (used alone or in

combination), herbs, teas, traditional remedies involving such substances as

baking soda or turpentine, vitamins and minerals, food, over-the-counter

products, and products bought from health-food stores. From the surveys,

researchers estimated that 45.7 percent of the rural adult population use home

remedies. They also found significant differences in use by age,

gender and education: Adults aged 30 to 44 are most likely to use any home

remedies (56 percent); adults aged 65 and older are least likely (35.7 percent).

More women than men (50 percent versus 39 percent) use home remedies; and more

women than men (7 percent versus 3 percent) use vitamins and minerals. Adults

with a high school education or less are more likely to use

honey-lemon-vinegar-whiskey remedies but less likely to use vitamin-and-mineral

remedies.Arcury and three colleagues from the University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill also reported that respiratory and throat and mouth conditions were

treated most often with honey-lemon-vinegar-whiskey remedies, that

cardiovascular conditions, infections and allergies and mental health were most

often treated with herbs, and digestive and urinary tract conditions and general

well-being were most often treated with teas. This research was supported by the

U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

 

 

 

Erin M

Bksfld, Ca

 

 

 

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