HealthCare >> Alternative Medicine >> Introduction to Alternative Medicine

Q. What is the difference between alternative medicine and conventional medicine?
Most of the well known alternative medicine follow six core principles and practices that differ from the principles and practices of conventional allopathic medicine.

They are:

1. The healing power of nature
   Alternative medicines are founded on a deep belief in the healing power of nature. Alternative medical providers accept that within us is a natural ability to heal, an inherent recuperative power that is the key to all healing. Biomedicine or conventional medicine has historically tried to reduce the healing process to a series of physiological, physical interventions.
   
   A very common example is the rampant use of antibiotics for illnesses in children. The alternative therapist would perhaps like to use medications which bolster the immune system of the child rather than use an antibiotic to just suppress the infection.
2. ‘Patient centered’ rather than ‘physician centered'
   Biomedicine is more ‘physician centered,’ in which the doctor's opinions and beliefs are considered more important than the patient's. Alternative medicine, on the other hand, is ‘patient centered,’ in which the feelings, beliefs, and the opinions of the patient are essential elements in the treatment and decision-making process. High quality alternative medicine is founded on a deep appreciation of the wonder and mystery of being a unique human being.
3. Results generally take longer
   One primary goal of alternative medicine is to stimulate the body's natural healing response and to let nature take its course. Due to this reason the rate of healing is slower than the conventional system of allopathic treatment.
4. Use of natural and whole substances
   Many alternative treatments use natural substances such as herbs, botanicals, homeopathic, nutritional supplements, and whole foods.
   
   There is a general belief among naturopathic doctors that the use of whole or natural products to treat maladies helps the healing process better than their synthesized counterparts.
5. Higher standard of health
   Conventional medicine practitioners have usually seen health as ‘the absence of disease’, from where the common philosophy arises that "if you are not sick and you do not need to go to the doctor". People would go to their doctors for an annual check up and be given a clean bill of health. Assessment of an individual's health is by the results of the physical examination giving no or very little consideration to life-style factors such as diet, exercise, or personal or psychological issues.
   
   In contrast, alternative medical systems work on the premise that health is a dynamic process. Other factors ranging from the strength of a person's ‘vital energy’ to how happy the person is in his or her personal and professional life are also considered. Even a person's religious and spiritual concerns are all carefully addressed when assessing health and well-being.

Q. Is alternative medicine safe?
World Health Organization's (WHO) Guidelines for the Assessment of Herbal Medicines, states that a substance's historical use is a valid way to document safety and efficacy in the absence of scientific evidence to the contrary. You can reasonably assume that licensed alternative providers use treatments and techniques that are safe when used correctly. If you have a question about a particular treatment or remedy recommended by an alternative health care practitioner, ask both that practitioner and other experts to provide you with as much information as necessary to determine if you can personally have confidence in the recommended treatment.

Q. Will alternative medicine work for me?
The answer to this question lies in what are your expectations from alternative medicine. Most of the times we are approaching alternative therapist after we have tried allopathy for long and our condition for which we are seeking treatment is rather advanced. It is with this thing in mind that you should approach alternative medicine.

Any system of medicine cannot guarantee success for every condition. Each system of medicine has certain health conditions for which it is best suited and some health conditions for which it would be the treatment of last choice. This is true for conventional as well as alternative medicine. For example, Chinese herbs and acupuncture medicines, have a long and respected history of treating conditions of infertility and impotence in less drastic and more natural ways than conventional medicines. The key to success with alternative medicine is to make sure you have all the accurate information you need from around the world about treating your health conditions. It will also guide you on how to ‘live well’ while coping with your health condition, thus embracing life.

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