Quackery is thriving in a new field of medicine. People’s fears and hopes are often exploited by unscrupulous individuals. “Alternative” medical professionals are already claiming miracle cures when the miracle you might need is surgery for sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea: Who Can Diagnose It?
Let’s not forget this. An overnight sleep test is required to diagnose sleep apnea accurately. It must be done according to established procedures. A well-trained and accredited sleep specialist should evaluate the results and recommend treatment.
An alert doctor might suspect that you have sleep apnea. They will examine you and ask you whether you snore. A sleep test is required to determine the exact diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment.
Alternative Medicines for Sleep Apnea can be used to treat or cure it.
Alternative medicine can’t treat or cure sleep disordered breathing. Sleep apnea is not a cure. Although there is an effective treatment for sleep apnea, it is not permanent. Sleep apnea can be a complex disorder. The right treatment depends on many factors. One or more of these is the only effective treatment for sleep apnea.
Some people may experience weight loss. Some medications may be prescribed for certain people. Some people may need certain surgeries. A dental appliance for some people
Rules of Thumb for Quack Detection
Quacks can appeal to our natural desire to find a quick cure. Mr. Chambers was not interested in using a CPAP machine to sleep. Chambers was disappointed that the initial CPAP treatment didn’t work as well as he expected.
He was looking for a simple solution. He was swayed by a quack. How do you identify a quack? Who are you to believe? Is it really important if you feel better than Mr. It does matter if, like Mr., It does matter for two reasons:
- Quacky can be expensive. Quack remedies can be expensive if you have a tight budget.
- Quackery can cause death, directly or indirectly through the use of a dangerous product. Here are some guidelines to help you avoid quackery and the associated risks.
- Be skeptical. Be skeptical of anything that sounds too good to be true.
- Check for the credentials of the person making the claims. Is he able to document any training that qualifies him/her to give medical advice?
- Ask questions about the research. Are the results repeated and verified by other researchers? Are the results peer-reviewed and published in respected medical journals by other scientists?
- Follow the money. Is it a good idea to spend money on this product? Is it reasonable or are you being offered a $50 dime-store item? These are the rules of thumb. How does magnetism stand up to them?
- It seems too good to be true, that small magnetic fields could eliminate the effects of sleep apnea. Yes.
- Does the “authority” who sells this theory have any medical credentials? Is the research valid?
Alternative Medicine: What It Can and Can’t Do
Except for a few cases, most alternative medical treatments are safe and effective, as long as they are not used to replace good primary care. You should be scientific if you are interested in trying alternative methods. Talk to your doctor about your ideas, then do a controlled experiment. Then, return to the sleep laboratory and see if there is a significant improvement in your sleep apnea.
Two very bad decisions
It is a bad idea to discontinue using the sleep treatment that your doctor prescribed and try a different one. You can experiment with other treatments, provided they aren’t harmful. However, you should still use your CPAP device at all times. Your sleep apnea will return if you stop using CPAP. It will get worse.
A second dangerous decision is to choose an alternative practitioner for your primary or sole doctor. Many alternative doctors have little medical training. If they fail to properly treat a serious condition (diabetes or cancer), it could prove fatal. You should also seek out alternative treatments if you are forced to.
Perhaps this is the cure.
The cure for sleep apnea might be found in an obscure alternative medical treatment. Many scientific discoveries have been made outside of the traditional medical establishment. The medical establishment is slow to accept new ideas. Unconventional treatments are treated with suspicion and skepticism and are often rejected by the medical community.
It takes a long time to incorporate a new concept in mainstream medicine. This is evident in the case of sleep disorders medicine. Although sleep disorders research has been ongoing for over 40 years, it is only now that the subject of sleep disorders medicine can be taught in medical schools. This skepticism protects the public against falsehoods.
The peer review and scientific method must be used to validate new medicine. This prevents the misuse and exploitation by unscrupulous companies, incompetent scientists, and personal greed. It is not perfect.
There are some bad scientific articles in medical journals. Sometimes, good treatments take longer to reach patients than they should. Although progress seems slow, there are still significant advances being made. When the review process fails, we are reminded how important it is to be skeptical and cautious.
Pregnant women were recommended thalidomide in 1950 to treat morning sickness. It was not well tested and caused severe birth defects. The medical community has not heard of a cure for sleep apnea, and even if it exists, it hasn’t had the chance to test it scientifically. Prudence suggests we continue to use our CPAP units, and that we remain patient and skeptical.
Summary
- Guidelines for diagnosing medical quackery are asking for certificates.
- Find out who the profits are and whether the service or product is worth the investment.
- Find out if the research was conducted using a scientific method.
- If you are interested in other therapies, your CPAP should be used.
- Don’t use an alternative practitioner as your primary or sole physician.