German seniors swear by naturopathy

05/16/2014

Complementary medicine is popular in Germany. Especially the elderly know you from an early age. Now, a team from the Berlin Charité has asked how much and in what form seniors are actually using complementary medicine.

To capture the real conditions as possible, the scientists of the Charité contacted older citizens over 70 with different life circumstances. There was a demand for the use of all natural products and procedures that were taken for medical purposes.

58.7% are satisfied with complementary medicine
Thus, 61.3% of seniors use a form of complementary medicine. Dietary supplements, such as vitamins and minerals, come first (35.5%). Herbal medicines are used by 33% of respondents, followed by external use (26.8%). 58.7% of users describe a positive effect of complementary medicine. Nonetheless, most seniors (64.9%) prefer a combination of complementary and conventional medicine.

Little known about interactions
Often, seniors do not inform their doctor that they are using complementary medicine themselves. However, more than half of the users (57.9%) do not know if and what interactions could cause the drugs with conventional drugs. The scientists point out that this is not without problems. (Source Carstens Foundation)