Orthodox medicine /natural medicine

Question

Dear expert team,
I have heard that one can combine orthodox medicine very well with natural medicine in CF, e.g. tea, acupuncture, massages, and other. Is that right?

Answer

Hello,
natural medicine is a collection of healing methods, which do on the one hand use means from the nature, e.g. moving, breathing, sun, water, air, food, but also healing plants and their preparation and methods of activation of spontaneous healing. Often also methods from the so-called alternative medicine, like homeopathy and traditional chinese medicine are ascribed to the natural medicine.
In contrast to the orthodox medicine, healing methods from the field of naturopathy have to be generally understood as methods with a so-called "unproven efficacy" and are ascribed to the scientifically non-approved procedures which do replenish the orthodox medicine.
As long as it does not harm the patient and as long as the proven therapies of the orthodox medicine are not negelcted, natural healing procedures can also be used in CF patients if there is the wish to do that. However, as there is no prove of success, the CF-doctor in charge should be informed about the "additional therapies" in any case, in order to be able to judge the individual effect and to pursue the course of the illness in more detail.

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Christina Smaczny

02.07.2009