CHICAGO, Sep 20 (Reuters Health) - Physicians should not necessarily discourage their patients from using traditional folk remedies, a Connecticut osteopath said here Sunday at the American College of Clinical Pharmacology's annual meeting.

Dr. Lee Pachter, head of the division of general pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, described his experience in treating Puerto Rican children for asthma. In an effort to understand the care that parents were providing, he and colleagues surveyed 117 Puerto Rican families in the Hartford area.

They found that parents seemed to understand what they needed to do to prevent attacks, including preventing colds, avoiding triggers such as aerosol sprays and smoke, and keeping their children away from pets or dust. The majority said that during an attack, they would keep the child calm, give prescribed medications and fluids, and rub the child's chest and back.

Three quarters of parents used Vicks Vapo Rub or some other camphor-based salve, and most of them said they believed it was effective. They used a variety of other home remedies, including Siete Jarabes, a syrup sold by Hispanic botanicas, and Agua Maravilla. Some children were given aloe vera, cod liver oil, or camomile tea.

Dr. Pachter conducted a literature search to see if there was any scientific basis for the use of these agents. He found no evidence of bronchodilating effects in the ingredients of Siete Jarabes, which combines sweet almond oil, castor oil, tolu, wild cherry, licorice, cocillana and honey, or Agua Maravilla, which combines witch hazel with alcohol, aloe vera juice, cold liver oil, egg white, onion, garlic, and honey.

Intrigued, he asked parents what they believed happened during an asthma attack. Most said that they thought their child's lungs were becoming filled with mucus and that they had to find a way to get the mucus out. The Siete Jarabes syrup and other home remedies act as expectorants or purgatives, so they work as the parents expect, Dr. Pachter said.

From that experience, he said, he learned to delve deeper into patient folklore and listen without condemning their beliefs. He does not ask a patient outright if they are using a home remedy, but rather asks them first if they have heard of such remedies.

If someone is using what Dr. Pachter has found to be harmless, he does not tell them to stop. For instance, Dr. Pachter started suggesting that in addition to giving children Siete Jarabes, parents give them albuterol. Many have listened.

He acknowledged that many physicians might have trouble allowing their patients to continue practices they consider useless. But he pointed out that when viewed from within a cultural belief system, remedies and therapies that may not be biomedically active may still be considered effective.

(From Reuters Health)