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Posts Tagged ‘Diagnosis’

A Look At Alternative Medicine And Conventional Medicine
By Evelyn

An increasing desire for wellness, in response to today’s stressful lifestyle and rising incidences of cancer, disease and illness, has led to the rising demand for alternative medicine and therapies. It is true that many people are becoming disenchanted with conventional medicine’s drugs and the approach to healing.

Alternative medicine and alternative therapies are therapeutic practices, which are currently not considered as an integral part of conventional medicine. Conventional medicine is the current mainstream medical system of diagnosis and treatment of disease.

However, an increasing desire for wellness, in response to today’s stressful lifestyle and rising incidences of cancer, disease and illness, has led to the rising demand for alternative medicine and therapies. It is true that many people are becoming disenchanted with conventional medicine’s drugs and the approach to healing.

What is the difference between conventional medicine and alternative medicine? In general, conventional medicine tends to focus on the disease and employs techniques to treat it. It views the body as a war zone where battles against invading organisms are fought, and won or lost. It focuses more on techniques, technology, chemical reactions that can be measured, statistically proven and documented. Treatment is on the part of the body that is displaying the symptoms of the illness or disease.

On the other hand, alternative medicine tends to be “holistic”, where an individual’s health is considered as a whole and treatment not just focused on the symptoms. Alternative medicine employ “natural” methods to aid the healing powers of the body to return to a state of health. Treatment is holistic; that is it takes into account every aspect of a patient and not just on the health symptoms that he or she is experiencing.

Contrary to popular belief, alternative medicine has a history longer than conventional medicine. Much of alternative medicine is derived from ancient healing techniques. For instance, the use of herbs is practiced all over the world since a long time ago; whether in India as ayurvedic medicine, in China as traditional Chinese medicine or used as aromatherapy which can be traced back to ancient Egyptian times.

There are a full range of alternative medicine and complementary therapies. They include acupuncture, energy healing, hypnosis, flower essences therapy, EFT, homeopathy, etc – all aimed at restoring the body back to balance and thus helping an individual achieve total wellness.

It would seem that after the above explanations, alternative medicine is superior to conventional medicine. This will not be an accurate view for all health situations.

Conventional medicine, does in fact, have a place in health treatment. Conventional medical interventions such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and antibiotics do bring benefits. They can prevent death, pain and give hope to people to walk again, provide instant relief, and also, provide a new functioning organ in place of a diseased and ailing one.

Also, alternative practitioners do not condemn conventional medical practices altogether. Their belief is somewhat different, however. That these conventional medical interventions should not be the first choice of treatment, as it often is. The point is that most tend to seek natural or alternative medicine as the last resort. Seeking holistic treatment as a last ditch for health and life is not a very good idea as alternative medicine takes a long time to show positive healing benefits.

For the general public, I guess it is important to realize that there are more ways than one in the aspect of health. Fortunately, with the advent of the holistic health movement over the last two decades, a growing number of conventional doctors are now recognizing that health is more than the absence of disease.

Many more medical doctors practice “integrative” medicine, where they combine research-backed alternative medical treatments with the best of conventional allopathic medicine. This may just be the best way to go. The overall objective to aim in the environment of today and tomorrow is for a higher standard of health; in short, total wellness.

Alternative Medicine: Weighing The Risks
By Evelyn

Before you try alternative medicine for treatment, please ensure that you are well aware that there are certain risk areas. Read this article to find out!
Those of you who are considering alternative medicine for treatment, please ensure that you are well aware that there are certain risk areas. These areas of risks sprang from the many criticisms of alternative medicine. They range from mere sceptism that this form of medicine does not work to the more extreme warning that they are highly dangerous and can kill.

Here are 6 main criticisms and risks of alternative medicine:

1. Alternative Medicine is difficult to prove.

Some of the therapies used in alternative medicine are really difficult to prove. For instance, in the case of energy healing for the mind and spirit, proponents of alternative medicine may report increased sense of wellness after a treatment session; but really, how to really prove this result?

2. Results from testing Alternative Medicine are not “conclusive”.

Very often, skeptics say that there is no proof that alternative medicine works. Studies done so far are largely on a smaller scale and therefore, skeptics claim that results are inconclusive. This is compared to the randomized, double-blind studies on a large group basis usually done for new pharmaceutical products and surgery.

3. “Natural” does not equal “safe”.

Not many people realize that herbs are not necessarily non-toxic. They think that just because herbs are natural products, they are safe. However, this misconception is dangerous. Although natural, herbs can have very powerful effects. Take for instance, the Chinese herb Ginseng. While ginseng helps to build up immune system and helps to “warm” the body, it is not advisable to overdose on ginseng. An overdose can cause an imbalance to the body, which can result in illness.

4. Improper diagnosis by unqualified alternative medicine practitioners.

As alternative medicine is not properly regulated, there are many practitioners who are not suitably qualified or experienced enough to treat a patient. Improper diagnosis is dangerous especially if he or she is critically ill and needs the appropriate medical attention straight away.

5. Some patients of alternative medicine do not seek the right treatment until it is too late.

This has partly to do with improper diagnosis. In addition, overzealous patients of alternative medicine may postpone the decision to seek conventional medical treatment until it is too late for recovery.

6. Insufficient regulatory requirements by government bodies.

The case of nutritional supplements, which are not regulated by the US government, is often quoted as an example. As long as manufacturers do not make a claim about the ability to cure or treat a disease, nutritional supplements are considered “food products”. If these supplements are classified as food products, manufacturers do not have to prove that they are effective. What is only required is a basic safety test and a “truth in labeling” qualification – the bottle must contain what it says is in it.

This can have disastrous consequences. A prime example is Ephedra, a nutritional supplement sold as an energy booster and weight loss aid, but resulted in deaths.

Laying out the risks in this article is not meant to have the purpose of stopping you from seeking health and wellness solutions. Rather, because of the risk areas, it is to highlight to you that you have a responsibility to research and find out more about the particular alternative medicine treatment method that you are considering.

You also need to keep your doctor informed. There may be a need to adjust the dosages or timing of other medications based on any other supplements that you’re taking. Also, be aware that there is little or no regulation of the outrageous claims that can be made by practitioners of many alternative therapy methods. So, it is also important to choose a practitioner wisely.

There are benefits to alternative medicine. Although I can’t prove anything, I speak from first hand experience. Highly recommended, therefore, is to know enough of what you intend to do and weigh the risks.

Uncommon Is Alternative Medicine Really Today?
By Jeff

Information on what the different kinds of alternative medicines are, how it can help you, and what the most popular method in a recent survey was.

We all know it is frustrating when you get a common cold or a headache and so on, but what kinds of  alternative medicine solutions are out there so you can avoid taking several pills? There are several resources accessible to you regarding alternative solutions to help various health concerns from the internet, news programs, and even a magazine titled Alternative Medicine. The best thing you can do is do a little research for your problem and attempt to find another way to help yourself without swallowing away several more pills.

Alternative medicine is a broad term that covers several different therapies and treatments. Some of the complimentary methods available just to name a few are; chiropractic, diet, yoga, aromatherapy, herbs and nutritional supplements. There are plenty more to name and plenty more that have been used by people on a common basis. In a 2002 study it was found that 62% of American adults had used some form of alternative medicine in the past year.

In a basic sense, an alternative medicine is a health treatment and prevention that is not yet considered to be a part of a conventional medicine. So as mentioned above, these methods of treatment avoid the use of prescription drugs and/or surgery. However, when in dire need alternative medicine doctors do not discourage surgery or prescription drugs.

Another goal of the complimentary medicine treatment is to see the problem through the whole body of a person. As oppose to simply identifying the symptoms and giving a diagnosis, the alternative way of being is to see the underlying cause of the problem and view the persons mind, body, emotions, and spirit.

In the study that was done in 2002, amongst the 34,000+ people that were surveyed the most popular natural treatment used was prayer for health reasons with 110,012 uses. Herbs and nutritional supplements came in a distant second with a little over 50,600 times people said they had used that as an alternative medicine in the last year. Rounding out the top five includes chiropractic, deep breathing exercise, and meditation.

There are several alternative medicine methods out there that can help everything from treatment, prevention and a release of stress. These natural treatments allow a person to soothe themselves from any tension and relax. It is clear from the 2002 study that you are not the only one interested in or using alternative medicines. Thanks to the internet you can visit websites online and do your own unlimited research.