conventional medicine

Alternative Health

What is alternative health or medicine?

Alternative Health or alternative medicine is any practice which has healing effects of medicine but not based on the evidences gathered using scientific methods. It might consist of wide range of medical practices, products and therapies. Examples of alternative medicine include homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture etc.

Alternative medicines and alternative therapies are therapeutic methods, which are currently not considered as a fundamental element of conventional medicine. Conventional medicine is the current popular medical system of analysis and treatment of disease. However, an increasing desire for health and fitness, in reaction to today’s traumatic lifestyle and increasing situations of cancer, diseases and illness, has led to the improving demand for services for alternative health and treatments. It is true that many people are getting disappointed with conventional medicine’s drugs and the approach to treatment.

Alternative health VS Conventional Health

Alternative medicine tends to be ‘holistic’, where a person’s health is regarded as a whole and therapy not just targeted on the symptoms. Alternative medicine implements “natural” techniques to aid the treatment abilities of the body to come back to a healthy body. Treatment techniques are holistic; i.e. It takes into account every aspect of a patient and not just on the health symptoms that he or she is experiencing.

Conventional medicine tends to focus on the disease and utilizes methods to treat it. It views the whole body as a war zone where fights against infiltrating organisms are fought, and won or lost. It focuses more on methods, technology, chemical reactions that can be calculated, mathematically proven and documented. Treatment is on the part of the whole body that is displaying the symptoms of the illness or disease.

Alternative medicine has a history longer than conventional medicine. Many of alternative medicines are derived from ancient treatment techniques. For example, the use herbal treatment practiced all over the world long time ago. It is popular as Ayurvedic medicine in India.

Considering the above points, alternative medicine may seem superior to conventional medicines. The general perception is somewhat different, however. Sometimes, conventional medicine should not be the first choice of treatment, as it often is. The point is that most usually search for organic or alternative medical care as the last resort. Looking for organic treatment as a last dispose of for health is not a very good idea as alternative medical care requires some time to show positive healing effects.

Luckily, with the introduction of the natural health and fitness activity over the last two decades, a lot more conventional physicians are now recognizing that health is more than the absence of disease. Many more physicians practice integrative medication, where they merge research-backed alternative medicine with the best of conventional allopathic medication. This may just be the best way to go.

www.skillcountry.com is the right place to find the best alternative health practitioner in your city or town. You can even come across others with unique skills, talents and services. And if you are an alternative health practitioner you can post your profile for free.

Science | Should the NHS fund alternative medicine? | LS

 Added on November 4, 2013  LS Web Editor   , , , , ,

Science | Should the NHS fund alternative medicine?

Science | Should the NHS fund alternative medicine?

Firstly, I want to point out what I mean by alternative medicine. The definition of it is: any practice that is put forward as having the healing effects of medicine but is not based on evidence gathered using the scientific method. Examples include but are not exclusive to: Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Ayurvedic Medicine, Naturopathy and many more. You could quite feasibly make up your own brand of alternative medicine tomorrow if you chose to.

I want to illustrate a few undeniable facts to set the scene for alternative medicine; Homeopathy normally comes in for the largest amount of criticism due in part to the levels of dilutions involved. Homeopathy is the concept that like cures like and that this effect becomes stronger at a greater dilution, it relies on the as of yet unproven belief that water has memory. A standard homeopathic remedy is 30C; this is an enormous level of dilution and needs to be given some context. If I was to drop a grain of salt into a full bath it would not be dilute enough, perhaps a pond or a lake? No not dilute enough, in fact the entire volume of water on our planet wouldn’t even cover it.

There is not an atom of active ingredient in any standard homeopathic remedies, just the ‘memory’ of one. If you are still not convinced, then ask yourself why and how do homeopathic remedies not have memory for the gallons of sewage they have passed through as well as the intended ‘medicine’?

What’s the harm though of alternative medicine if it is an effective placebo? A great deal is the short answer. Alternative medicine is often used in the place of conventional medicine and not alongside it as in complementary medicine. Recent examples of this have been the promotion of homeopathic anti-malarial kits in place of genuine anti-malarial medication. Individuals die as a result of this promotion and the NHS endorsement of pseudo science is a very dangerous development for patient’s health.

Another fundamental problem with alternative medicine is the lack of regulation, only two branches have their own governing body and the treatments they preach do not have to undergo any testing. This means side effects are unknown; furthermore it’s not even tested to see if it actually works. Wasting NHS resources on anecdotal evidence is unwise and a public injustice. Supporting this field with public money takes funding away from real medicine; that can be genuinely proven to work. It is only a very minor proportion of the NHS budget but takes money away from life saving treatments such as Herceptin for breast cancer patients. Giving it credibility will only fuel the market of deception it occupies and drain time and resources from interventions that may enhance healthcare in the future.

There is no place within the hierarchy of our healthcare service for ardent supporters of alternative medicine such as HRH Prince of Wales or our very own Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt. If alternative medicine works for you then that is brilliant. But you should not expect the taxpayers to foot the bill for something that cannot be proven and can be actively disproven to be effective. If you are in dispute of this fact then you are also in dispute of the effectiveness of any modern medicine as they undergo the same process of evaluation.

Not enough people with common sense or basic scientific knowledge are willing to stand up against this tyranny of ignorance, but hopefully with education this will change.

Jonathan Derrick 

Spiritual Healing – A Complementary form of Treatment to Medical Science

Researches prove that 80% of problems in our lives have their root cause in the spiritual dimension. Spiritual healing is a subtle science that helps people to get rid of problems that have their root cause in the spiritual dominion. In other words, it is all about identification and elimination of the spiritual root cause of the problem.

Spiritual Healing is said to be the natural energy therapy that complements the conventional medicine by holistic treatment of the body of a person comprising mind, body and the spirit. This kind of healing makes us believe that there is an invisible power, which never lets us feel alone in this universe, a power to which we can always look up to for help and guidance. In short, it teaches us the art of living.

It can be practiced by and upon anyone irrespective of his/ her religious beliefs, caste, creed, age, gender or sexual orientation. The healer uses the imperceptible healing energy and directs it to the recipient, either by directly touching or without touching the body of the person. It mainly contemplates on working with the energy centres of the body for healing a particular part of the body.

The benefits of spiritual healing cannot be described in words. Though, it is a complimentary form of treatment to medical science, this kind of healing can help with almost all kind of human problems including physical problems such as aches and pains, arthritis, broken bones, and mental problems like depression and stress. In fact, many cancer patients undergoing spiritual healing have found relief from the pain they undergo as a result of chemotherapy.

Have a glimpse at some of the benefits that could be attained through spiritual healing.

Medicinal Herbs Continue As An Alternative To Maim Line Pharmaceuticals

Modern medicine and more importantly the pharmaceutical industry have long desired to refute the claimed benefits of consuming medicinal herbs, however, there are those who believe that the healing power of herbs live on. May it be recognized that contradicting many research studies is the fact that many herbs are used in the manufacture of today’s medicine, thereby cementing the notion that medicinal herbs can be useful in protecting and curing some illnesses.

In the early days of modern medicine, testing of a medicinal herb was based on patients use to record its effects. In a simplistic wayIf the result was positive as well as repeatable, the herb was prescribed for the particular illness for which id had been used. On the other hand, if the results were singular and its effect could not be repeated, its use was discontinued and put on a list of worthless theories.

In hindsight, many herbalists believe that requirements of the test may have been slanted. As with some conventional medicine, medicinal herbs do not have the same effect on every patient and they believe the test groupings may have been too small to accurately depict the benefit of the medicinal herb.

In most cases the taking of a medicinal herb usually shows no sign of ill effects, however, there are some natural herbs that can cause problems in humans. Therefore, as with modern medicine, any medicinal herb should be taken with caution and only in prescribed dosages given by a trained herbalist.

Herbs Have Centuries Of History On Their Side

It is commonly believed that the Chinese were the first to use any medicinal herb for treating illnesses. In fact there are medical journals that date back around 5000 years listing various known herbal medications, it has also been discovered that ancient Greece and Egypt counted the medicinal herb as an important part of health care, thousands of yeards ago. Many of the herbs they used are still being used by naturalists around the world and many are also marketed for the specific ailments for which they have been used back then.

Unfortunately, the use of medicinal herbs has been a cause of concern for many medical professionals due to the lack of control over their use in over the counter products sold in many drug stores and health stores. Owing to the lack of control in the manufacturing process of these herbal medicines, the claim is that mixing certain herbs and other natural products may cause side effects of which the consumer is unaware..

An example of one of the medicinal herbs used today is red clover, which grows wild in many parts of the country. It is claimed to have healing tendencies for skin ailments such as eczema and psoriasis as well as chronic degenerative diseases and dry cough. Unfortunately, there is little information concerning the proper dosage and application of the clover to achieve the most benefits.

Irrespective of the innumerable documented successful treatments of cases of eczema, psoriasis etc modern medicine still refuses to recognize that medicinal herbs do have healing qualities preferring to promote the products of large pharmaceutical companies instead.

People value both complementary and conventional medicine

27Oct

(NewsFix) A survey shows that people who use complementary medicine are not dissatisfied with the traditional approach.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), which includes acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal remedies and massage, is used by an increasing number of people. Researchers at the Centre for Alternative Medicine Research and Education at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in the US surveyed 831 CAM users and found that most people were also still seeing a traditional doctor.

It seemed that the combination of CAM and traditional medicine was seen as more effective than either used alone. CAM was seen as helpful for headache, back and neck conditions, while the conventional approach was preferred for high blood pressure.

But most of those surveyed did not tell their doctor about their use of CAM. The most common reason for this was that they didn’t think the doctor needed to know, or that the doctor didn’t ask about it. One third said it was not the doctor’s business and 20 per cent thought the doctor wouldn’t understand. Only 14 per cent were afraid their physician would disapprove.

The survey suggests that patients no longer see their physician as their sole health care provider. He or she is, rather, one of a team. The other members of the team could include acupuncturists, herbalists and so on. What seems strange is that it’s rare for any members of this team to communicate with one another!

Depressed, anxious older people turn more often to alternative …

Depressed, anxious older people turn more often to alternative medicine – TeleManagement

23Oct

(TeleManagement) Mental state seems to be a factor in the popularity of complementary and alternative medicine, say researchers.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), such as herbal medicine, acupuncture or meditation, is popular among older people. A new survey from scientists at Wake Forest University suggests that depressed anxious older people turn more often to alternative medicine. But they do not use CAM for mental symptoms.

Previous work by this group showed that blacks and native Americans over 65 were more likely to use home remedies. But this new study did not show any differences between ethnic groups. Praying for health was also important to the study group of over 30,000 people over 65. As many as 81.7 per cent of those with anxiety or depression used prayer, compared to 65 per cent of those without. The researchers comment that mental disorders like depression among older people are too often accepted as part of the aging process – instead, they should be properly diagnosed and treated, whether by CAM or conventional medicine.

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