Archive for March, 2005
Well red
Sunday, March 27th, 2005
A “live” blood test at an alternative clinic claims to tell more than conventional tests, writes Kate O’Flaherty
A man in a white coat isn’t exactly the sort of person you’d expect to meet in a complementary medicine centre. But the Irish Centre of Integrated Medicine (ICIM), run by Brazilian Felipe Reitz and his Irish wife, homeopath Jean FitzGerald, claims to be a different kind of clinic. Located in Naas, Co. Kildare, its slogan is “conventional approach, natural solution” and while most of the centre’s practitioners offer alternative therapies, they endeavour to do so in cooperation with mainstream medical practitioners.
Integrated medicine, where practitioners from either side of the divide work together to treat patients, is widely regarded as the natural way forward for the complementary medicine sector. While the gap between conventional and alternative medicine has in the past often been more of a battlefield, the current trend is more one of the bridge-building.
According to Reitz – the aforementioned man in the white coat – the development of a harmonious, integrated approach is often hampered by prejudice, based on a lack of knowledge about how the other side really operates. Originally educated as a biologist, and now a practitioner of acupuncture, martial arts and medical Qi Gong, he has an appreciation of both sides.
“Sometimes I fell like a referee when I hear people from on discipline complaining about another,” he says. “The truth is everyone has something to contribute. I personally will always try a natural remedy or therapy first, but if it’s taking too long to get relief, of course I will take medication, but I don’t abuse it. I think one of the main issue with conventional medicine is that the consultation time with a doctor is so short, and many doctors feel trapped in this system. At our clinic we try to achieve the best of both worlds. We hope to have a GP working from the centre in the near future, and many local doctors have expressed interest in what we do here, as we share many patients.”
Another technique introduced recently at the centre, and a relatively new one to Ireland, is live blood-cell analysis, also known as nutritional blood analysis.
Reitz employs his background as a biologist in this technique, where a drop of blood is examined under high magnification and special illumination using a microscope. This technique as a health screening tool is not used in conventional medicine.
“The condition of your blood is a good indicator of your internal health”
live blood-cell analysis is done using darkfield microscopy, where the blood sample is viewed against a dark background, the opposite of what happens in regular microscopy. This allows things that may not be visible under standard lighting to be observed, and as the microscope is connected to a monitor, the patient as well as the practitioner can see whatever’s to be seen in the blood sample.
Unlike conventional blood tests, where a quantitative analysis is more usual, or a sample is chemically treated or stained to view cells, live-cell analysis involves looking at “live” blood to check the condition of blood cells, and searching for indicators of disease. A detailed medical history is taken before the blood analysis is done.
“Because we are looking at live blood which has not been dried or stained, we can watch it moving and changing,” says Reitz. “It does take time to learn technique and be able to interpret what you observe. The condition of your blood is a good indicator of your internal health, which may not always be expressed externally. The appearance of your red and white blood cells, as well as the presence of other things such as bacteria, fungi or toxins, may indicate if there are potential problems with various body systems, such as immune or digestive.”
So what do you see on the screen in front of you? In a normal, healthy person, you’ll see lots of nice, round, uniformly-sized red blood cells and a few white blood cells, maybe a few micro-organisms. Seeing life this close up is always fascinating, but how much can your blood really tell about your state of health?
Reitz admits that the interpretation of what is observed can be subjective, and says that experience is needed to be able to determine what a particular observation might indicate. He also stresses that the technique is more of a pre-diagnostic technique, and that his finding are recorded in the patient’s file, which can then be presented to their doctor to aid diagnosis.
Some patients take their results back to their GP or consultant, others may be referred to one of the centre’s own practitioners, depending on the nature of their complaint.
Live blood-cell analysis doesn’t have the greatest reputation with the international conventional medical community. While it is a valid scientific technique, its ability to detect ill health is seen as limited at best.
Reitz believes the issue is that the technique has not been sufficiently researched, to see if the interpretations made by live-cell analysts correlate with a conventional diagnosis. While clearly passionate about the potential of the technique, he speaks modestly about serious diagnoses he has aided, and says he is learning all the time. As part of his research, he will team up with scientists from nearby Maynooth University later this year to explore aspects of live-cell analysis.
Sceptics may dismiss it as a curiosity or a fad, but there’s a waiting list of several weeks to get the test done at ICIM, and even the local horse-racing fraternity has brought in blood samples from their four legged patients for analysis.
For humans, a consultation and analysis takes about 90minutes and costs E120. as the body replenishes the red blood cells every few months, a follow-up test is recommended for people who have been put on any treatment to see if there is an improvement. Actually seeing a visible difference in the inner workings of the body can be a powerful motivational force for people to continue looking after their health. As Reitz puts it, “the blood never lies”.
ICIM can be contacted on 045-844819 or at http://www.icim.ie/
Hope at last
Friday, March 11th, 2005
Many people suffer for years with chronic diseases and they never get to the bottom of them. Rory Hafford looks at a new clinic that could provide the answer to the long-term sufferer’s prayers…
Many people go through life suffering from a chronic ailment. They visit their GP; they go to specialist clinics; they check in and out of A & Es – and all to no avail. They never get to the root of their problem.
Now, it seems, however, there might well be a solution. And it all lies in a simple blood test!
A new clinic, the Irish Centre of Integrated Medicine, has just been set up in Co. Kildare and its stock in trade is blood analysis.
Using a high definition microscope, state of the art computer technology and just one drop of blood, the specialists in the clinic can determine the condition of your blood sample.
The integrated method is a highly effective means of analysing your current state of health at a deep cellular level.
As a live blood sample is used, you can actually see the cells moving across the screen. Normally, dead blood cells are analysed in standard hospital tests. The integrated method, however, is a highly effective means of analysing your current state of health at a deep cellular level.
This simple procedure can show up ancient problems that have dogged a patient for years – things like chronic digestive disorders, anaemia, heavy metal toxicity, chemical toxicity, dehydration. Parasite infection, bacterial infection, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, degenerative conditions, the list goes on.
After the test the centre conducts a comprehensive analysis and submits a detailed report to the patient’s doctor, to help speed up the diagnostic and treatment process.
A consultation can take one-and-a-half hours and costs in the region of 120.00. the Irish Centre of Integrated Medicine, St. John’s Grove, Johnstown, Naas, Co. Kildare. Tel: 045-844819. http://www.icim.ie/