Pneumonia

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Tea Tree Oil [1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. WARNING: Tea Tree Oil is not recommended for children, pregnant women or mothers that are breastfeeding.

Recommendation: No recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that tea tree oil is effective in treating pneumonia)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Megavitamin Therapy (Multivitamin, Vitamin Supplements) [1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]:

Please Note that while supplements are effective in correcting deficiencies in the body, their long-term usage is not helpful in preventing diseases like cancer and heart disease. To prevent these illnesses one should eat the natural foods which these vitamins and minerals come from. Replacing natural sources with artificial supplements actually increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Supplements should be taken only as a balanced multivitamin supplement that contains no more than 100% of the recommended daily allowance. It would be most helpful in people with restricted food intakes, pregnant women and women of childbearing age.

Recommendation: Weakly against. (There is no evidence that Megavitamin therapy can prevent or treat pneumonia. In fact, long term therapy can lead to increased risk)

Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence

Comfrey (Blackwort, Symphytum Officinale)  [1, 2, 3, 4]:

Please note, this herb is TOXIC IF TAKEN ORALLY, OR IF APPLIED TO AN OPEN WOUND. Can cause severe liver or kidney damage and lead to death. May ONLY be used as a cream over intact skin, and does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Strongly Against  (ONLY TO BE USED AS A CREAM OVER HEALTHY SKIN. If taken orally to treat pneumonia, Comfrey can lead to severe liver and kidney damage, and can even lead to death.)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:

1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19460762

3. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/comfrey

4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2103401

5. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/orthomolecular-medicine

6. http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/163/2/192.pdf

7. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ortho.html

8. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/72/5/707

9. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13638.shtml

10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17327526

11. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/tea-tree-oil

12. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-teatreeoil.html

13. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18816275

14. http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/972/&page=

15. http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/62/4/769?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=staphaseptic&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

16. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2145499

17. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9055360

18. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12451368

19. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9848442

20. Bishop, C.D. (1995). "Anti-viral Activity of the Essential Oil of Melaleuca alternifolia". Journal of Essential Oil Research: 641–644

Public Discussion