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Introduction to complementary and alternative medicine
Introduction to complementary and alternative medicine
Modern alternative traditional medicine
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The widespread use of alternative medicine nowadays has driven scientists to study it and understand the reasons of the high demand for unconventional treatment. According to Zollman C, and Vickers A. (1999), complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can be defined as therapeutic and diagnostic disciplines which are exogenous of the institutions where modern methods of treatment are exist and taught. Eisenberg D. (1993), defines CAM as “medical interventions which are commonly not taught at medical schools and not generally provided at hospitals in the US”. These two definitions are not fully satisfactory because, firstly, some forms of CAM which were tested by scientists and appeared to be safe and effective and found a place in conventional …show more content…
First of all, most forms of CAM failed clinical trials as being hazardous, ineffective and some even being able to cause death in particular cases. Secondly, botanicals such as opium poppy and purple foxglove helped to cure cough and edema, respectively, at the same time destroying human body due to content of active toxic components. In addition, CAM is based on anecdotes, which are received by word of mouth or published or books for public reading. It cannot be fully trusted, because of not being tested or failure in formal clinical trials. One cannot be sure in efficacy of alternative medicine, as the case with PC-SPES, which despite containing great amount of estrogens is sold to prostate cancer diseased people till these days. Ultimately, research revealed that annual expenditure on CAM was higher than for conventional medicine in the UK and the US. In contrast, modern medicine is scientifically proven and provides only those treatments which passed clinical trials. The treatments are published only in peer-reviewed journals and are not announced as a cure, but are suggested as possible treatment. Conventional medicine can be trusted and it shows real treatment. The most significant advantage of conventional health care is the increase in the life expectancy of people due to advance in medicine. Also, illnesses which had no cure in the past, like child leukemia, heart related diseases and most forms asthma can be treated now. Therefore, there should be no alternative to modern medicine, because advantages of it are clear, while there is still discussion on unconventional medicine. Some forms of CAM might be used as compliment to conventional medicine, but not as alternative to it. People should be more informed about CAM and its inefficiency to provide effective and safe health care as modern medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is becoming a more and more accepted form of complementary medicine in the UK. It is thought that about one million adults in Britain have had acupuncture and that a million herbal prescriptions are written every year. Even as little as ten years ago, TCM was still thought of as a border treatment and one would have been hard pressed to find a practitioner outside of London. Since then, complementary or alternative medicine has been flourishing, and Chinese medical centers have been opening on streets all around the country. “The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM), the self-regulating body which embodies practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine, has seen its membership grow by on average 30% per year to about 350 members at present” (Chinese Cures for British Ills, n.d.).
Acupuncture, ayurveda, chiropractice, homeopathy, meditation, osteopathy, and yoga are just a few of the many types of medicine practiced all over the world. According to the western establishment, all these forms of medicine are called alternative medicines. However, some of the aforementioned techniques have been in continuous use for over six thousand years, predating western medicine by over four thousand years. Yet, still many M.D.'s reject alternative forms of medicine. One of the buzzwords in medicine in recent years has been "holistic medicine". Physicians are becoming more aware of the need to treat the whole patient rather than just certain symptoms. Due to this realization, a small percentage of doctors are turning to ancient forms of medicine as a guide to alternative treatments. As alternative forms of medicine emerge in the western world, Christian scientists need to determine the moral, religious, and scientific validity of such techniques in order to gain a more holistic approach to medicine.
In today’s world, many people assume that the latest medical technology and treatments are always the best option. However, all over the world, different techniques for curing diseases and aliments are being used. These methods fall under the category of complementary and alternative medicine.
Nowadays, complementary alternative medicine is very popular in the United States. It is widely used by adults and children. National health statistic reports done in 2007 shows that 38.3% of adults and 11.8% of children use some form of alternative medicine (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). But why is this happening? Why is it becoming so popular? Why are more people turning to it? Many times, this is because conventional medicine has not work and they want to try an alternative. That is the case of the author of this paper.
There are many different uses of alternative medicine and that can be used in a variety of situations. Some people may be skeptical of alternative medicine since they are not aware of the facts and statistics. By homeopathy becoming more popular people will not be as skeptical. “Despite the successes of many alternative therapies, the phrase "alternative medicine" has not acquired a completely respectable air. To many, especially doctors trained in conventional medicine, "alternative therapies" seem unscientific and dangerous” (Badertscher). As the author shows that although alternative medicine may seem skeptical to people, there are many reasons to prove that alternative medicine is an overall better solution. Badertscher also explains the many benefits to his view of alternative medicine of seeking to work with the body 's own natural healing processes” (Badertscher). For example, a person may suffer from chronic back pain may decide to go to a chiropractor instead of using medication such as oxycodone. In this Badertscher shows the benefit that using the body’s natural healing does and that it puts the person in control of their
For many centuries, humanity has been on an eternal quest for cures and treatments for many chronic conditions. At the present time, conventional medicine is mostly performed by doctors and other health care professionals, with the extensive use of pharmaceutical drugs, surgery or radiation treatments for disease treatment. Conversely, even though not as popular, complementary and alternative medicine and treatment options are slowly gaining popularity and becoming an addition to traditional medicine.
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
There has been a growing trend over the past few years in health care using Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) or also known as Eastern medicine. The new and emerging type of health care has been around for thousands of years, but in recent years have been more accepting in Western culture. CAM is described as, “a wide range of practices, technologies and treatments not traditionally associated with the medical professions or medical curriculum” (Solomon & Adams, 2015). There are many different types of CAM health care. Some of the more popular practices include acupuncture, massage therapy, aromatherapy, reflexology, chiropractic and herbal remedies. Each of these therapies are used in different ways to help with the overall
Complementary and alternative therapies are relatively new and essential options in health care, they help to increase the quality of life of patients and provide them with numerous possibilities to ensure growth of their health, beyond current medicine. Recently, these therapies, such as massage therapy and acupuncture, have become more prevalent in research. Consequently, their substitution with standard medicine in the healthcare system has been supported by the literature. The literature that supports these methods has explored why complementary therapies are needed, the different and distinct features of each therapy, and they also examine the education and knowledge those implementing the services must have. To accurately analyze if complementary and alternative therapies are valuable to the health care system, this paper will aim to learn why they are becoming predominant and why nurses should use these therapies’ to assist in improving the health of individuals. To determine the main attributes of these therapies, a variety of resources that extensively discuss complementary and alternative therapies will be examined and the paper will also examine the benefits and weaknesses they have on improving health. Lastly, this paper will aim to determine if these services should be implemented by nurses as alternative options for their patients, as nurses should have substantial knowledge pertaining to implementing these therapies.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine (WM) differ from each other in many ways. TCM favors a holistic approach, views the universe and body philosophically and develops inductive tools and methods to guide restoring the total balance of the body. In Chinese medicine, the correct balance between Yin and Yang make up the vital energy, Qi, an essential life-sustaining substance of which all things are made. Some Traditional remedies include herbal medicines, acupuncture, massage and moxibustion, an herbal heat therapy. Western medicine is closely linked to the scientific method and emphasizes biochemical processes causes disease, its treatment and health. This form of treatment views all medical phenomena as cause-effect sequences and relies on drugs, radiation and surgery to alleviate symptoms and cure diseases. As you see, the two types of medicine are completely challenged differently depending on the doctor, the diagnosis, and the treatment options. All of these are completely different when compared with each other.
Every year, approximately 230, 000 to 400. 00 deaths are caused by iatrogenic deaths ( in other words, these are deaths caused by wrong medical treatments). Two of the prominent yet some what contrasting types of medicine are, Ayurveda, the Indian traditional medicine, and Modern (aka western) medicine. Both of these have their own processes and methods of healing, which over the years have created their own followers. While Ayurveda addresses the root causes of the disease through identifying the imbalances in the elements, called “Doshas”, it also emphasizes on a spiritual lifestyle which for most people in today's world is a sea change. On the other hand, western medicine addresses the symptoms and provides instant albeit temporary relief for suffering. Needless to say there are more followers of the western medicine due to its immediate impact on subsiding the pain. Out of lack of awareness to the significance of traditional medicine, especially Ayurveda, many doctors and researchers are against the use of Ayurvedic and traditional medicines, which limits the potential of curing certain ailments of patients without additional side effects.
Over the centuries, several treatment methods have been utilized by humans for remedy diseases when they caught. Two of them are modern medicine and traditional medicine. Traditional medicine, which is also called alternative treatment, is older than modern medicine. This effective treatment had been used for many centuries before modern medicine was found. On the contrary, modern medicine has been used since the 1900’s (Lyons). In this system, drugs’ tests are carefully done in the safe laboratories, and their side effects are identified before they are given to the patient. Moreover, the effects of the pills are written on the leaflets which are found in the drug packages to warn the patients for these effects. However, sometimes the side effects are not blocked, so people have to take another pill to get better. It makes people take more chemicals into their bodies. Even traditional medicine, give its place to the modern medicine when its beginning times, it is used efficaciously like modern medicine at the present time. In course of time, people will gain reliance on traditional medicine again, since alternative medicine is more efficient and powerful in order to get better and soothe the diseases than modern medicine. In fact, in traditional medicine, there are fewer drugs, side effects, holistic therapy that people can be availed.
About 40% of Americans use some type of method outside the mainstream of conventional medicine. When hearing medicines that are being described outside the mainstream, you hear terms like complementary, alternative, or integrated medicine (CAM). Complementary medicine is usually referred to as medicine being combined with conventional medicine. Alternative medicine is usually ref...
When you are sick you take medicine, but there are many remedies for the same problems. The use of herbal remedies traces back to the Chinese in the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well by a compiled book in China written back more than 2,000 years ago (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011). Modern medicine has roots that are more recent in the development and production of synthesize drugs (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011). The old generations took herbal remedies to improve their health, but now as time and people, progressed modern medicine comes on top. Herbal and modern medicines have good and bad points, but one has qualities that are more effective.
Over the centuries, ancients made use of several treatment methods. Two of them are modern medicine and traditional medicine. Alternative medicine is older than modern one. That effective therapy has used for many centuries on the patience when modern medicine has not occurred in the world. Because it has improved in China, it can be called Traditional Chinese Medicine. In contrast, modern medicine has been in used since 1900’s. In this system, drugs’ testes are done in safety laboratories with care and nicety, and their side effects are located before they are given to the patient. However, sometimes the side effects are not blocked so, people have to take another pill to get better. It makes people to take more chemicals into their bodies. Further, modern medicine has splendid efficacy on the fatal diseases. Even, alternative medicine which people’s ancestors utilized stayed in the background when modern medicine has just found, it works at the present time efficaciously. ****** Therefore, using alternative medicine is more helpful to get better than modern medicine because there are fewer drugs, side effects; there is placebo effect and holistic therapy.