Rationale of Taking Over- the –Counter Medications, Herbals, and Nutrition

Comprehensive Essay on the Use of Nutritional Supplements for Children with Sickle Cell Disease

Introduction

Self-medication is currently acknowledged as an essential component of self-care. Most people use, amongst other things over the counter (OTC) drugs, herbs, and nutritional supplements such as seeking complementary alternative medicine (CAM).  Defined as medication that is sold directly to the consumer without a physician’s prescription, OTCs are encouraged by some governments but only for minor illnesses (Adams, Holland & Urban, 2014)(Comprehensive Essay on the Use of Nutritional Supplements for Children with Sickle Cell Disease). The sale of OTC contrasts with prescription medicine for which a valid healthcare practitioner’s prescription note is required for the pharmacist to sell the drug demanded by the client. The trend of using OTC is widespread in the US, and while the threat of self-medication is not significant, it raises the chances of illicit drug use. Furthermore, critics point out that the unregulated uses of OTCs suppress the underlying signs and symptoms, thus increasing the incidence of complications as a result of delayed diagnosis, resistance to drugs, and treatment failure(Comprehensive Essay on the Use of Nutritional Supplements for Children with Sickle Cell Disease). However, while this may be the case, proponents of their use, just like herbal medication use, nutritional supplements use, and complementary alternative medicine has benefits and consequences as well (Baars et al., 2019). Consequently, this essay examines a list of herbal medications as well as vitamins and minerals, often taken by patients. The paper outlines the rationale of taking each medication, the potential benefits and consequences of using them in addition to the drugs they might interact with. The paper also examines acupuncture as a type of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and the use of nutritional supplements for children with sickle cell disease.(Comprehensive Essay on the Use of Nutritional Supplements for Children with Sickle Cell Disease)

List of 10 Herbal Medications, The Patient’s Rationale of Taking Each Benefit and Consequences (Sparnakis et al., 2019)

10 Vitamins and Minerals, Rationale for Taking Them, Benefits, Consequences, and Possible Drug Interactions (NHS, 2017; El Hama et al., 2015)

Acupuncture – A Type of Complementary alternative Medicine in Treatment of Hypertension

In healthcare, complementary and alternative medicine is a term that describes medical products and practices that are deemed not to a part of the standard medical care. They include but are not limited to massage, tai chi, tasking green tea, and acupuncture.   I this section, the current paper explores the benefits of using acupuncture, which entails sticking fine solid needles into selected body locations called acupuncture points ) to treat hypertension. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), these needles are 32 to 36, and with 365 acupuncture points, both illness and wellness result from yin and yang imbalance. Yin describes the feminine aspect of life nourishing protective and yielding while Yang, its male counterpoint, is hard, dominant, and creative. Qi, which is the movement within these two forces, is a requirement. Zang, Shen & Wang (2014) determined that acupuncture can be an alternative treatment for a patient who is unable to tolerate anti-hypertensive agents’ side effects. Their case report involved a 56-year-old man with hypertension and anti-hypertensive drug side effects. The side effects included diarrhea, fatigue, and decreased sexual function. Due to these effects, the patient asked for acupuncture sessions where for 12 weeks, he attended the acupuncture sessions, each lasting 30 minutes 5- 6 times a week. By the end of the 12^th week, the patient no longer suffered from side effects proving the benefits of using acupuncture to prevent hypertension and avoid the use of hypertensive drugs. In their conclusion, these researchers correctly observed that based on the patient outcomes, intensive acupuncture could positively impact decreasing blood pressure, particularly if reinforced with appropriate medication and effectively succeed in eliminating anti-hypertensive drug side effects.(Comprehensive Essay on the Use of Nutritional Supplements for Children with Sickle Cell Disease)

Nutritional Supplement in the Treatment and Management of Sickle Cell Disease

Have looked at how OTC, herbal medications, vitamins and minerals as well as acupuncture to represent CAM play their part in helping an individual regain their health, the last section of this paper examines how nutritional supplement of calcium-rich foods and antioxidants to contain increased erythrocyte hemolysis and long term anemia. Sickle cell disease (SCD) occurs as a result of gene mutation wherein low oxygen setting the substitution of a single amino acid leads to polymerization of hemoglobin molecules making the individuals have sickle cell anemia. Boadu, Ohemeng & Renner (2018) aver that most of the SCD children in Sub Saharan Africa face experience malnutrition yet dietary intake rich in calcium. As a significant mineral, calcium is recognized for strengthening the bone for erythropoiesis, thus making it a vital nutrient to the SCD patient.  Food sources rich in calcium include daily products supplemented with leafy green vegetables. After meeting the Calcium nutrients, even the antioxidants lie Vitamins C and E were also met, and the patients’ outcomes also improved. Despite this, there is a need to conduct further research to more concrete evidence on how nutritional deficiency is a complication of SCD and therefore alleviate the pain in sickle cell anemia.(Comprehensive Essay on the Use of Nutritional Supplements for Children with Sickle Cell Disease)

References

Adams, M., Holland, N., & Urban, C. (2014). Pharmacology for nurses: A pathophysiologic approach (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc

Baars, E. W., Zoen, E. B. V., Breitkreuz, T., Martin, D., Matthes, H., Schoen-Angerer, T. V., & Willcox, M. (2019). The contribution of complementary and alternative medicine to reduce antibiotic use: A narrative review of health concepts, prevention, and treatment strategies. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2019.

Boadu, I., Ohemeng, A., & Renner, L. A. (2018). Dietary intakes and nutritional status of children with sickle cell disease at the Princess Marie Louise Hospital, Accra–a survey. BMC Nutrition, 4(1), 33.

El Alama, H., Filali, H., Rahmoune, I., Tazi, A., & Hakkou, F. (2015). Impact of drugs on Vitamins. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 7(12), 1-4.

Spanakis, M., Sfakianakis, S., Sakkalis, V., & Spanakis, E. G. (2019). PharmActa: Empowering patients to avoid clinical significant drug-herb interactions. Medicines, 6(1), 26.

Zhang, L., Shen, P., & Wang, S. (2014). Acupuncture treatment for hypertension: a case study. Acupuncture in Medicine, 32(1), 73-76.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/