Alternative and Traditional Medicine - Term Paper Example

Alternative and Traditional Medicine College Introduction Traditional verses alternative medicine has become a subject of great scrutiny but one important point to consider is that both share the same objective-a healthy body. Experts do differ in their view of this subject, but it’s upon us to find out the distinctive features of the two, discover their curative properties and try to combine or even blend them for a more effective treatment. This subject has many reasons as to why different people choose one style of treatment over the other. Majority of the sick people will seek a treatment from a specific doctor who practices according to their own beliefs. A sick person often seeks treatment from a practitioner who admire the most and belief. Traditional is regarded as the conservative kind of approach to treatment. Traditional medicine also referred to as western medicine specializes more on drugs and surgeries. It is often preferred in cases that are very serious and likely to cost someone life. Each style however has its own advantages and disadvantages and there is certainly no practitioner that has all answers regarding treatment. They are both good and complementary to each other. Traditional medicine includes modern health science such as surgery and associated practices. It is also referred to as contemporary or Western medicine (Gordon, 1993). On the other hand, Alternative medicine refers to the collection of skills, practices and knowledge based on old theories or experiences and comprising a wide range of procedures native to diverse cultures across the world. Alternative science refers to a combination of unconventional practices to diagnose, prevent or treat any form of illness (Gordon, 1993). Differences between Alternative Medicine and Modern Medicine It has been proven that traditional medicine, in most cases focuses on the factors causing the disease, prevention and remedies but the environment and circumstances under which the disease occurred is not considered as the system is limited to the study of an anomaly and ways to remove it (Gordon, 1993). Since it has evolved over the ages, the alternative approach varies according to person and place. An example of a practice under this category is the Chinese medicine. The underlying principle of this system is to consider the ailment as a dynamic entity of the system and seek a means to uproot its foundation. It considers the illness as an upset of balance between the body and its surroundings. Thus, it focuses on cleansing the whole system rather than eliminating the immediate cause of the disease. Traditional medicine practices focuses on a single organ (Gordon, 1993). The entire process my not be checked and the disease might have adverse effects on other parts of the body. On the other hand Alternative medicine goes further to investigate the social and environmental factors in addition to the affected part. This approach tries to remove the disharmony in all body processes rather than removing the ailment. Consequently alternative medicine’s whole systems approach may not be suitable for emergencies. Traditional medicine therefore rates high in managing the emergency situations. Illnesses due to psychological processes are better handled by the alternative medicine. These include allergies, addictions, stress-related disorders, schizophrenia and the Alzheimer’s disease (Connor & Samuel, 2001). Use of drugs or suggery do not help in such cases and in the contrary, it might cause adverse effects on other parts of the body. While traditional medicine is legally permitted in many countries, being given a validity status by authorities, alternative medicine despite being very popular lacks regulation and monitoring (Connor & Samuel, 2001). Moreover, training and medical education of practitioners of alternative medicine is not taken care of and therefore the quality and hence credibility of such systems many a times may end up being questionable. A good example where alternative medicine thrives better than traditional medicine is where doctors try to treat headache. Several drugs have been prescribed for curing it but there is no satisfactory healing reported for this disease. In fact most of them have caused severe side effects and have been banned in many countries (Connor & Samuel, 2001). However, alternative medicine practices such as, yoga, massages and meditation sessions are known to cure the disease. There is the big irony of modern medicine. As more drugs are being discovered, more new ailments are also come up. Currently in developed countries large populations are under certain medication courtesy of traditional medicine (Connor & Samuel, 2001). This is due to the fact that people believe in instant results. On the other hand alternative medicine practices restore the entire system and do completely the opposite of conventional medicine. Finally, despite the differences between both forms of healthcare, a combination of the two practices can yield an almost perfect treatment approach. Modern medicine is also favored mostly by the elites and the rich. They are very expensive mainly due to cost incurred during research in the area. They are also very expensive because there are a lot of technicalities that are involved in practice and more than one surgeon can be involved when performing a surgery. In most of the African countries it is believed that modern treatment can cure them because they were developed based on the environment in the western world and therefore the situation in Africa is unique because the same disease in Europe can not be caused in Africa due to difference in both environment and conditions. Criticism of Traditional medicine The general attitude of the practitioners in traditional medicine is such that anything outside the western or conventional practice is no entity and has to be rejected (Lipski, 2005). According to critiques of traditional medicine, it is viewed that the modern medicine practices take the body as a biochemical Machine set (Lipski, 2005). A perception in which the body viewed as nothing but assembly of spare parts. The argument is that believers of modern medicine are very rigid and cannot tolerate any opinion outside the conventional medical training. The training itself perhaps is to blame rather than the individual for this phenomenon. The training somehow makes an individual to believe that it is a must to administer some chemical and do some surgery to effect healing, and anything else is not treatment (Lipski, 2005). The rigidity is such that the procedure is robotic for instance a medical doctor is programmed to administer medicine and when it fails, more prescriptions are done and finally the body part is gotten rid of. Healing on auto parts school of thought from the medical school is said to affect not only the patient but also the medical practitioner (Lipski, 2005). The practitioner is blinded to the essence of the disease. This lead to a situation where they are accustomed to such perception that the disease is a mere disruption of a biochemical process and the problem is solved prescribing a series of combination of chemicals in the name of drugs (Lipski, 2005). They therefore ignore physiological and other factors associated with disease. It is also argued that the modern medical knowledge represented in libraries of millions of books may mean just nothing if at the end of the day treatments yield no results (Lipski, 2005). For instance despite all the knowledge in the world about traditional medicine, you will find that some chronic or terminal diseases get complicated within their administration(conventional disease management) yet a simple therapy procedure and alternative treatment simply solves the problem and makes a mockery of the immense knowledge available to traditional medicine actors (Kirkland, Matthews, Sullivan, & Baldwin, 1992). The highlighted weakness of traditional medicine surrounds the fact it concentrates mainly on treatment at the expense of prevention and addition to the fact that some conventional drugs yield adverse effects. Clinical trials are human experiments geared towards enabling the medical scientist to study the safety and effectiveness of medicine. According to Helsinki declaration (Lipski, 2005) in principle, a trial must be sanctioned by an ethics committee and information should be given to the people involved. However most modern medicine trails do not meet this requirement. Advances in treatments and diagnosis of disease are begged on average trails on a large sample of individuals. However it is not possible to ascertain the effects on a single person. Criticism of Alternative medicine The critiques of alternative medicine dwell largely on the fact that till recently, there has been less documentation and clear prove of how alternative or natural cures work. One critique, Dr .Arnold Relman states that, ‘There really is no such thing as alternative medicine--only medicine that has been proved to work and medicine that has not’ (Kirkland, Matthews, Sullivan, & Baldwin, 1992). They argue that medicines that have passed clinical tests, a category that modern medicine, falls should be given the ultimate recognition unlike the alternative medical practices that have not been subjected to nor passed large-scale clinical trials. Alternative Medicine and Natural Treatments Alternative medicine is defined as any treatment that falls outside of the mainstream or conventional/modern medicine. They include rational herbs, therapies and natural cure. Natural treatment includes herbs, mineral, vitamins and other supplements and therapies (Fanu, 2002). Herbal medicine Herbal medicine includes herbs, herbal materials, finished herbal products and herbal preparations (Fanu, 2002). Herbs are crude plant parts such as roots, leaves, flowers, stems, fruits among others. Herbal materials on the other hand include fresh juice, resins, oils and dry powders (Fanu, 2002). These products are processed through simple procedures such as steaming, roasting, or stir-baking with honey and alcoholic beverages. Herbal medicine covers the broadest section of alternative medicine and dwelling a bit in this area can help in deeper understanding. The following are examples of common herbs. Aronia Melancarpa This herb originates in North America and its berries are used in curing stomach upsets. It is mixed with food such as bread. Ginkgo Biloba is a naturally growing Chinese herb (Fanu, 2002). It is a sacred try in parts of China as is used for Oriental medicine. Oregano oil is another common herbal medicine. It belongs to the natural remedy group of substances. It has antiseptic and antibiotic effects (Fanu, 2002). Spinal manipulation is practiced by health care professionals such as chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, naturopathic physicians, physical therapists, and some medical doctors (Fanu, 2002). Practitioners perform spinal manipulation by using their hands or a device to apply a controlled force to a joint of the spine. The amount of force applied depends on the form of manipulation used. The goal of the treatment is to relieve pain and improve physical functioning. Spinal manipulation is among the treatment options used by people with low-back pain—a very common condition that can be difficult to treat (Fanu, 2002). Mind and body medicine It focuses on interaction between behavior, brain, body and mind. The intention is to use the mind to effect physical functions and promote health. Meditation techniques include postures, focused attention attitudes towards distraction. Various types of Yoga used for health combine physical posture, breathing techniques, meditation or relaxation (Fanu, 2002). Acupuncture involves stimulation of certain points in the body using various techniques such as penetrating the skin using niddles. Body-based and manipulated practices It focuses on structures and features of the body, including soft tissues, bones, joints, circulatory and lymphatic system (Fanu, 2002). Spinal manipulation is practiced by health care professionals such as chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, naturopathic physicians, physical therapists, and some medical doctors. Practitioners perform spinal manipulation by using their hands or a device to apply a controlled force to a joint of the spine (Lipski, 2005). The amount of force applied depends on the form of manipulation used. The goal of the treatment is to relieve pain and improve physical functioning. Spinal manipulation is among the treatment options used by people with low-back pain. Traditional healers Traditional healers use practices that are handed down from one generation to the other. In the United States and parts of Africa, traditional medicine man is a good example of such practitioners. NHIS states that 0.4 % and 1.1% of adults and children respectively use traditional healers (Lipski, 2005). Practices based on variation of energy are also common. This includes the electric, magnetic field manipulations, putative energy that generally looks at the concept that human beings are infused with subtle energy. References: Fanu. J. L. (2002). The Rise and fall of Modern Medicine. New York: Basic Books Kirkland. K, Matthews. F, Sullivan. C, & Baldwin. K. (1992). Herbal and Magical Medicine: Traditional Healing Today. Duke: Duke University Press Lipski. (2005). Traditional Healing in Modern Medicine. London: Innovative Healing Connor. H & Samuel. G. (2001). Healing Powers and Modernity: Traditional Medicine, Shamanism, and Science in Asian Societies. Chicago: Greenwood Publishing Group Gordon, R. (1993). the Alarming History of Medicine. Indiana: Sinclair-Stevenson. Read More