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Alternative Medicine for the Elderly pp 351–364Cite as

Alternative and Complementary Treatments in Respiratory Diseases in the Elderly

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Abstract

As with diseases affecting other systems of the body, the aim of alternative and complementary treatments of respiratory diseases is prevention, relief of symptoms, and improving function. While treatments in orthodox medicine are formulated specifically for each disease etiology, treatment in alternative medicine is designed specifically for each individual with little consideration of differences in the types of pathogens involved. Thus bacterial diseases are handled quite differently from viral diseases in conventional medicine, but diseases caused by a specific bacteria are treated pretty much the same in different patients; on the other hand alternative medicine therapeutic approaches would be customized for each patient but might not be different for viral versus bacteria respiratory infections in the same patient. These differences in the overall holistic philosophy and individualized approach underlying alternative versus conventional medicine create problems in designing studies on effectiveness. In addition the possibility of placebo effects and the choice of the proper placebo for some alternative medicine techniques like acupuncture complicates the assessment of treatment efficacy.

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Authors
  1. N. S. Cherniack
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Geriatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami VA, Medical Center (11A), 1201 NW 16th St., 33125, Miami, FL, USA

    E. Paul Cherniack MD

  2. School of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey at Newark University Hospital, University of New Jersey-Newark, 150 Bergen Street, 07103, Newark, NJ, USA

    Neil Cherniack PhD

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cherniack, N.S. (2003). Alternative and Complementary Treatments in Respiratory Diseases in the Elderly. In: Cherniack, E.P., Cherniack, N. (eds) Alternative Medicine for the Elderly. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05185-6_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05185-6_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07913-9

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