Study finds parents turning to alternates for asthma.

[Guest guest]

http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=118548

New Study Finds Parents Embrace Alternative Treatments For Children's Asthma

Article 18 Aug 2008

 

[Asthma can definitely be managed with herbal preparations. I use the mother

tinctures of Justicia Adhatoda+Ocimum Sanctum+Zingiber Off and the Biochemic

Combination 2 (Kali Phos+Mag Phos+Nat Sulph+Nat Mur) to reduce the intensity of

my attacks. The homeopathic remedies Antim Tart 30C alternated with Ipecac 30C

are useful too. This is MY self medication. May not work for all. Yoga is a must

for those who can do it. Often physical exercise and medication can cause an

eczema to surface on the skin. The alternate healers say it is not wise to

meddle with such an eczema. A friend of mine takes the ayurvedic herbal

preparation " Pankaj Kasturi " . It contains a mixture of herbs in a powder form. I

guess all asthma patients have their own personal therapies that is a

combination of this and that.- Jagannath.]

 

Cymfony, a TNS Media Intelligence company, reported that caregivers of

children with asthma discuss non-pharmaceutical treatment options more than

twice as often as the most-discussed type of asthma drug. Cymfony drew this

conclusion from its study of over 15,000 posts on blogs, discussion boards,

and social network sites written between October 2007 - April 2008 in which

parents discussed treatment approaches for their child's asthma.

 

" Pharmaceuticals play a central role in treatment of children with asthma,

but parents see them as only part of the solution to their child's condition

" according to Csaba Dancshazy, the Cymfony analyst who authored the report..

" Parents seek information on managing their children's lifestyle as well as

alternative therapies to complement the action of the medication. To meet

these caregivers' needs for a range of ways to help their child cope, drug

companies may wish to increase efforts in patient education to become a

valued information source and not just one treatment option among many in

the market. "

 

Other findings from the study indicate that parents are somewhat negative

about most classes of asthma drugs, with inhaled corticosteroids being the

exception. And while about one-third of these discussions take place on

disease-specific or general medical sites, the majority takes place on sites

with no medical content.

 

" There has been steady growth in use of the Internet for both informational

needs and emotional support around management of chronic conditions, " said

Cymfony President Andrew Bernstein. " Pharmaceutical brand marketers need to

understand the online context for patients and caregivers. "

 

The 30-page study, " Treating Pediatric Asthma, " is available for purchase

from Cymfony and TNS Healthcare. More information on the study is available

at http://www.cymfony.com/asthma.asp.

 

Separately, Cymfony announced the availability of the only syndicated social

media tracking service specifically focused on asthma brands. The service

aggregates discussion of 22 medications in 7 therapeutic categories from

over 8000 social media sources including message forums, discussion groups

and blogs. Pharmaceutical marketing professionals can to this data

to understand brand perceptions as well as the issues associated with the

diagnosis and treatment of the disease among patients and caregivers.

 

Cymfony's ongoing social media tracking platform can be used to gain a near

real-time understanding of consumer issues, questions, and concerns about

asthma. For example, brands can measure the impact of specific campaigns by

tracking the presence of messaging and changes in conversation volume.

Social media analysis complements research methodologies such as surveys and

focus groups. TNS Healthcare's physician panels and other services can be

used to explore findings of the syndicated study.

 

About TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony

 

TNS MI/Cymfony tells brands and companies what people are saying about them

-- whether the people are bloggers, traditional journalists or even

influential consumers. TNS MI/Cymfony sifts and interprets the millions of

voices at the intersection of traditional and social media to gain insights

that help companies identify the people, keep on top of the issues and

respond to the trends impacting their business -- at the speed of the market

We call this approach to harnessing this new dynamic " market influence

analytics. "

 

TNS MI/Cymfony pioneered the innovative technology to extract meaning from

high volumes and diverse sources of text. U.S. Intelligence agencies have

been relying on our technology for more than eight years. We are an

innovator in the integration of social and traditional media, offering

access to the greatest breadth of content sources and analytical expertise.

 

http://www.cymfony.com/asthma.asp

 

" It is now 30 years since I have been confining myself to the treatment

ofchronic diseases. During those 30 years I have run against so many histories

of littlechildren who had never seen a sick day until they were vaccinated and

who, in the severalyears that have followed, have never seen a well day since. I

couldn't put my finger onthe disease they have. They just weren't strong. Their

resistance was gone. They wereperfectly well before they were vaccinated. They

have never been well since. " ---Dr. William Howard Hay

 

 

Cricket on your mind? Visit the ultimate cricket website. Enter

http://in.sports./cricket/