3 - Naturopathic Medicine Flashcards
What is naturopathic medicine?
A distinct system of primary health care that addresses the root causes of illness, and promotes health and healing using natural therapies.
How does naturopathic medicine diagnose, treat and care for patients?
Using a system of practise that bases the treatment on natural laws governing the human body.
What does naturopathic medicine use?
Uses natural methods/modalities such as natural foods, nutrients, herbs, and remedies to support and stimulate a patient’s own healing process.
What does naturopathic medicine exclude?
major surgery, therapeutic use of x-ray and radium, and use of most pharmaceutical drugs (each province varies)
What province became the first in Canada to grant naturopathic doctors with prescribing authority in April 2009?
What province became the second?
1st - BC
2nd - Ontario
Describe the training/regulation of becoming a naturopathic doctor?
- Bachelor degree - including pre-medical science courses
- 4 year degree at an accredited naturopathic medical school
- National board examinations
- Clinical rotations
- Canadian licensing
- Provincial licensing examinations
- CME credits and yearly provincial licensing requirements
What kind of tests can licensed ND’s routinely run?
- Blood chemistry
- Nutrient levels
- Blood immunoglobulin levels to certain allergens
- Stool samples/cultures - for bacteria, parasites
- Lipoprotein cholesterol analysis
- Salivary hormone levels
Are tests ordered by a naturopathic doctor covered by the province?
No way - it’s good to have these done by a conventional doctor so they are covered
What are the treatment modalities of naturopathic medicine?
- Lifestyle and psychological counselling
- Nutritional counselling
- Clinical nutrition
- Botanical medicine
- Homeopathic medicine
- Acupuncture - Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Physical medicine
Naturopaths are more for ________ rather than ________
prevention rather than treatment
NHPs are divided into lots of categories:
List types of nutritional supplements
vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, amino acids, fatty acids, fibre
NHPs are divided into lots of categories:
List types of herbal medicines
tinctures, glycerites, solid extracts, teas, granules, standardized encapsulated forms
NHPs are divided into lots of categories:
Probiotics can be what kind of delivery?
oral and/or vaginal delivery
NHPs are divided into lots of categories:
What are glandular extracts?
Could come from bovine/pig source
NHPs are divided into lots of categories:
Types of enzymes?
digestive, fibrinolytic, proteolytic
NHPs are divided into lots of categories:
Types of topical NHPs?
salves, ointments, creams
NHPs are divided into lots of categories:
What can be IV?
vitamins and minerals
NHPs are divided into lots of categories:
What can be IM?
vitamins and iron
What are the principles of naturopathic medicine?
- first do no harm
- healing power of nature
- recognize and remove barriers to the healing process
- treat the underlying cause of the illness
- treat the whole person
- educate the patient about their illness and empower them to make necessary steps
- emphasize prevention
Principles of naturopathic medicine:
Describe “Healing power of nature”
- It’s the belief in the inherent self-organizing and healing process of living systems which establishes, maintains and restores health.
- It is the ND’s role to support, facilitate and augment this process by identifying and removing obstacles to health and recovery and by supporting the creation of a healthy environment.
Principles of naturopathic medicine:
Describe “Getting to the root of the problem”
- Finding out what the underlying processes are that contribute to the disease
- Finding out where are there imbalances, looking below the surface to find unifying themes (digestive, toxicity, endocrine, mitochondrial dysfunction)
Principles of naturopathic medicine:
Describe “Treating the whole person”
- Health and disease result from a complex of physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, spiritual, social and other factors
- The multi-factorial nature of health and disease requires a personalized and comprehensive approach to diagnosis
- Patient entered approach is required
Principles of naturopathic medicine:
Describe “First do no harm”
- Use substances that minimize the risk of harmful effects
- Generally avoid suppression of symptoms
- Do not give the patient false hope
- Recognize the limitations of natural medicine
- Refer for conventional treatments when needed
Principles of naturopathic medicine:
Describe “doctor as teacher”
- the original meaning of the word doctor is teacher ? LOL
- a principle objective of naturopathic medicine is to educate the patient and emphasize self-responsibility for health
- patient as co-learner
- partnership with patient
Principles of naturopathic medicine:
Describe “prevention”
- The prevention of disease AND the attainment of optimal health in patients is a primary objective of naturopathy
- NDs assess risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease and make appropriate interventions in partnership with the patient to prevent illness
Principles of naturopathic medicine:
Describe “the therapeutic order”
*pic on slide 24
- re-establish the basis for health
- stimulate the healing power of nature
- tonify weakened systems
- prescribe specific natural substances for pathology
- advise pharmacological substances for pathology
Describe what would happen in a naturopathic visit
- Length of first visit is usually minimum 1-2hrs
- Thorough history is taken
- Review of prescription medications
- Physical examination
- Lab testing is required (urine, blood, saliva, stool)
- Request for release of records
- Delivery of treatment plan/options
What are some foundations for health?
- nutrition
- clean water
- sleep
- exercise
- sunshine/outdoors/nature
- stress management
- supportive relationships
What are some things that naturopathic medicine excels in?
- digestive concerns
- increasing quality of life in those with chronic and life-threading illnesses
- decreasing side effects
- diabetes
- autoimmune diseases
- hormonal imbalances
- assessing an individual’s unique healthcare needs and risks due to differences in family history or genetics
- allergies
- multiple chemical sensitivities
- fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome
What types of patients go to ND’s?
- For those who express an interest in natural medicine or complementary care
- Those who are looking for additional support and counselling to maintain and improve their health
- Those who are self-prescribing herbs and nutritional supplements are there are concerns about interactions with medications
- Those who are looking for more information on disease management, in addition to conventional protocols
- Those who value prevention and are in good health but would like to avoid becoming ill in the future (Chris Treiger !!)
- Those who have been diagnosed with chronic illnesses and are looking for treatment options
- Patients that have a range of symptoms that have not been connected or resolved by their current medical practitioners
Look at cases
okay
