Long Term Residential Treatment

Long term residential treatment provides care 24 hours a day, generally in nonhospital settings. The most popular treatment model is the therapeutic community, with planned lengths of stay that range from 6 to 12 months. Treatments focus on the socialization of the individual and use the program community including other residents, staff and the social context as active components of treatment. Residential treatment facilities view addiction in the context of the social and psychological deficits of the individual and treatment focuses on developing personal accountability and responsibility as well as socially productive lives. Treatment is highly structured and can be confrontational at times, with activities designed to help residents examine damaging beliefs, self concepts and destructive patterns of behavior and adopt new, more harmonious and constructive ways to interact with others. Many facilities offer comprehensive services that can include employment training and other support services. Research shows that modifiable facilities best treat individuals with special needs, including adolescents, women, homeless individuals, people with severe mental disorders and individuals in the criminal justice system.

Natural Oils

Natural oils contain hundreds of organic constituents such as hormones, vitamins and other natural elements that are beneficial to the skin. Natural oils fall into two general categories: essential oils and carrier or base oils. Essential oils are volatile compounds found in plants. They give fruits, flowers, herbs and spices their fragrance and flavor. Obtained by distillation or expression, essential oils are highly concentrated and used at a very low concentration. Carrier oils, such as almond, sunflower, olive, walnut and other oils exist in higher concentration in cosmetics and when applied directly to the skin nourish, soften and protect it. Diluting essential oils makes them good bases. Oils are highly penetrating. They easily enter through a cell wall delivering essential vitamins, oxygen and nutrients. This helps stimulate cell metabolism and the regeneration process. The ability of oils to penetrate and carry nutrients through the cell wall to the cell nucleus can prevent cell deterioration, which can lead to infections and diseases.

Isotretinoin

A daily oral intake of vitamin A derivative isotretinoin (marketed as Accutane, Amnesteem, Sotret, Claravis, Clarus) over a period of four to six months can cause long-term resolution or reduction of acne. Doctors believe that isotretinoin works primarily by reducing the secretion of oils from the glands, however some studies suggest that it affects other acne-related factors as well. Isotretinoin research shows it to be very effective in treating severe acne and can either improve or clear well over 80 percent of patients. The drug has a much longer effect than anti-bacterial treatments and will often cure acne for good. The treatment requires close medical supervision by a dermatologist because the drug has many known side effects (many of which can be severe). About 25 percent of patients may relapse after one treatment. In those cases, patients require a second treatment for another four to six months to obtain desired results. Doctors recommend that one allow a few months pass between the two treatments, because acne can actually improve somewhat over time. Occasionally a third or even a fourth course is used, but the benefits are often less substantial. The most common side effects are dry skin and occasional nosebleeds (secondary to dry nasal mucosa). Oral retinoids also often cause an initial flare up of acne within a month or so, which can be severe. There are reports that the drug has damaged the liver of patients. For this reason, doctors recommend that patients have blood samples taken and examined before and during treatment. In some cases, doctors terminate or reduce treatment due to elevated liver enzymes in the blood of the patient, which suggest a link to liver damage. Other dermatologists claim that the reports of permanent damage to the liver are unsubstantiated, and deem routine testing unnecessary. A doctor must also monitor the blood triglycerides. However, routine testing is part of the official guidelines for the use of the drug in many countries. Some press reports suggest that isotretinoin may cause depression but as of September 2005, there is no agreement in the medical literature as to this risk. The drug also causes birth defects if a woman becomes pregnant while taking it or takes it while pregnant. For this reason, female patients are required to use two separate forms of birth control or vow abstinence while on the drug. Many doctors only supply isotretinoin to women as a last resort after milder treatments have proven insufficient. The USA put into effect restrictive usage rules (see iPledge program) beginning in March 2006 to prevent misuse, causing occasioned widespread editorial comment.

Other Complementary Medicine Practices

Complementary medicine also encompasses movement therapies, which include Eastern and Western movement approaches used to promote physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Examples of movement therapies include Feldenkrais method, Alexander technique, Pilates, Rolfing Structural Integration and Trager psychophysical integration. According to the 2007 NHIS, 1.5 percent of adults and 0.4 percent of children used movement therapies.
Practices of traditional healers are a form of complementary medicine. Traditional healers use methods based on indigenous theories, beliefs and experiences handed down from generation to generation. A familiar example in the United States is the Native American healer or medicine man. The 2007 NHIS found that 0.4 percent of adults and 1.1 percent of children had used a traditional healer usage varied for the seven specific types of healers identified in the survey.
Some complementary medicine practices involve manipulation of various energy fields to affect health. Experts sometimes categorize such fields as veritable (measurable) or putative (yet to be measured). Practices based on veritable forms of energy include those involving electromagnetic fields like magnet therapy and light therapy. Practices based on putative energy fields, which experts also call bio-fields, generally reflect the concept that human beings are infused with subtle forms of energy; qi gong, Reiki and healing touch are examples of such practices. The 2007 NHIS found relatively low use of putative energy therapies. Only 0.5 percent of adults and 0.2 percent of children had used energy healing/Reiki the survey defined energy healing as the channeling of healing energy through the hands of a practitioner into the body of the client.
Finally, experts also consider entire medical systems, which are complete systems of theory and practice that have evolved over time in different cultures and exist apart from conventional or Western medicine, complementary medicine. Examples of ancient entire medical systems include Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Other modern systems that have developed in the past few centuries include homeopathy and naturopathy. In 2007, the NHIS asked about the use of Ayurveda, homeopathy and naturopathy. Although relatively few respondents said they had used Ayurveda or naturopathy, homeopathy ranked tenth in usage among adults 1.8 percent and fifth among children 1.3 percent.