During the nineteenth century a variety of alternative medical traditions became popular in the United States. There was a shift in how people began to view their physical, mental, and emotional health. A type of alternative medicine that quickly became popular in the United States and Europe was the tradition of hygeiotherapy. This form of treatment included hydropathy a type of water-cure treatment and combined that with exercise, dietary reform, sexual restraint, and any behaviors that were viewed as unhealthy.
The older tradition of “taking the waters” dates back to ancient Greece and Rome, a time when baths were regularly used by citizens and hygiene was held in high regard. The belief that water had many natural benefits for the body, mind, and soul was not a new one. Taking the waters had a long history in European medicine and water was viewed as having healing qualities for numerous conditions. The resurgence in the idea of water having a wide range of healing powers came from a man named Vincent Priessnitz, who lived 1799-1851. Priessnitz is thought to be the first to create the blueprints for water therapy, which he named hydropathy. Once opening a hydropathic institution people traveled from all around the world for its supposed healing abilities and not long after this practice of water therapy became known around the world. Soon enough similar institutions focusing on water therapy began to open around Europe and spread to America. Hydropathy attracting a wide range of people in all classes of society. This practice was not only attracting ordinary citizens but also those from the higher classes of European and American society.
The mid nineteenth century there was a transformation in hydropathy. The ...
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...he human body. The variety of alternative medical traditions that arose separately from the established mainstream medical system shows the unique aspect of the United States. A country where so many different people from around the world come to live, new ideas and cultural norms become established. Different trends have the tendency to sweep across the country one year and the next year can completely disappear. The alternative medical tradition of hygeiotherapy was a popular trend that engulfed the nation and sparked the belief that having good hygiene, eating healthy foods, and exercising daily helps strengthen the body, mind and soul. Hygeiotherapy played an important role in how medicine and health was viewed by many people of all classes of society and provided people with a new approach of taking preventative measure to ensure they live a healthy life.
pp. 41-84. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Pigg, Stacy Leigh. (1997) "Found in Most Traditional Societies: Traditional Medical Practitioners between Culture and Development.”
Constantine Hering who introduced homeopathy medicine into the United States in 1835. Homeopathy practice was widely popular in Europe and America. By 1900, there were “22 homeopathic medical schools, 100 homeopathic hospitals and over 1000 homeopathy pharmacies in the united states” (Synovitz & Larson, pg. 128). Homeopathy was very popular in the 1900s until its decline during and after the civil war. Due to the rise of technology advancement and pharmaceutical companies promoting drugs and surgeries, the popularity of homeopathy began to decline. People were more inclined to use allopathic medicine due to its more pronounce effectiveness. The major event that led to the decline of homeopathy was the American Medical Association (AMA). Due to the decline of homeopathy doctors to join the AMA, the AMA started persecuting the homeopaths physician beginning in 1914. The AMA proposed “uniform standards of medical education and assumed the power of accreditation” (Homeopathy, Slide 17). Due to this action, the AMA would not accredit homeopathy education, and eventually it was nonexistent. However, Homeopathy medicine has been making a comeback since 1980s. Today, there are many physicians practicing homeopathy medicine worldwide. According to the text, “there are more than 6000 German and 5000 French practitioners. In Great Britain, homeopathy is part of the medical and health care system” (Synovitz & Larson,
No matter what, where, or who you are, water is a necessary component to keeping any organism alive. Although water is essential for life, in many places, clean drinking water is hard to find. There are many consequences to drinking contaminated water. Every year, three to five million people are attacked by water-borne diseases and over 100,000 of them die. One fatal disease that can kill within hours is cholera.
“Homeopathy was always regarded, therefore, as the rich man’s therapy’, and the exclusive preserve of the wealthy, privileged and titled” (Francoeur). This was shown as the rich man 's therapy because at the time only wealthy people could afford it. Due to this perception many people were financially unable to pay for homeopathy. This stopped many people from using this treatment since they thought it was only for the upper class, although it was found to be much cheaper than conventional medicine. “British homeopathy could never really shake off its aristocratic gloss, and thus it never established itself at a popular level among lower classes, which was marked contrast to the other sects” (Francoeur). In the United States, homeopathy was easily accepted and more financially available. Constantine Hering played a major role in the use of homeopathy in the United States. Constantine Hering is referred to as the father of American Homeopathy. He founded the Hahnermann Medical College in Philadelphia in 1800. Homeopathy became popular in the United States during the late 1800’s. The increase in homeopathic medicine was due to a rapid spread of deadly diseases. Although Hahnermann had shown the true effect of homeopathy, he received criticism since homeopathy had a negative financial impact on pharmacies and doctors. By having homeopathic remedies that were safer and more cost effective people chose this route
These alternative treatments include acupuncture, meditation, and therapy among many others.There is growing evidence that the desire for alternative medicine is expanding because people undergoing procedures in today’s health care system has had unmet needs as well as feelings of being uncared for (Acari & Flanagan, 2015). Alternative medicine is able to provide patients with treatments that provide relief for hard to cure problems such as back pain, neck pain, and arthritis. Many of these alternative treatments have been shown to be successful for various problems. The use of complimentary and alternative medicine as well as the open ended communication that holistic nursing provides is gaining popularity from patients who are fed up with traditional care and hospital
Deborah Lupton, 2012. Medicine as Culture: Illness, Disease and the Body. Third Edition Edition. SAGE publication Ltd.
Our arrogance leads us to believe that we know the most about health care but the ancient people, who lived in this country before us, knew more than we are willing to give them credit for. "Their medicine was combination of faith, blind luck and relying on the good earth -- relying on what was there" (Howard, 2000. P.2)
Vasey, C. (2002). The water prescription for health, vitality, and rejuvenation. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press.Warren, J., Bacon, W., Harris, T., McBean, A., Foley, D., & Phillips, C. (1994).
The concept of localism comprises a reorientation in medical theory and practice. Practitioners began to replace the holistic emphasis on the humoral balance of bodily fluids in relation to lifestyle with a focus on pathological aetiology. The basis of this shift to ‘scientific medicine’ is critically underpinned by important political and socioeconomic changes occurring at this time. The resulting improvements in the understanding and treatment of illnesses were mirrored by a shift in the balance of power between patient and practitioner. Localism was the mechanism which enabled these advances and is therefore of fundamental importance in understanding the history of medicine.
"Historical Collections :: Reflections on Health in Society & Culture." Claude Moore Health Sciences Library | www.hsl.virginia.edu. 13 Feb. 2012 .
As mentioned cholera is seen in developing countries, it is especially rampant in Sub-Sahara Africa and South East Asia. The main cause of Cholera having epidemic proportion in developing countries is due to unclean and infected water source. We can see Cholera running rampant in disaster and refugee setting where people are cramped in a small space and the unsanitary conditions. A study done by WHO in India has seen epidemic conditions of Cholera outbreaks. They mostly have a seasonal outbreaks, most of the cases are not reported and seem to be unregistered. Findings Of India's 35 states or union territories, 21 reported cholera cases during at least one year between 1997 and 2006. The state of West Bengal reported cases during all 10 years, while the state of Maharashtra and the union territory of Delhi reported cases during nine, and Orissa during seven. There were 68 outbreaks in 18 states, and 222 038 cases were detected overall. This figure is about six times higher than the number reported to WHO (37 783) over the same period. The states of Orissa, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam and Chhattisgarh accounted for 91% of all outbreak-related cases. India has problems with sewage management, food and water safety is not monitored.
The principal role of modern medicine is to achieve full health of the citizens. Due to the society we live in, there are a lot...
Many people think that the increased travel and trade between the world’s nations improved people’s lives. Although this increase had a positive effect, travel and trade also brought disasters. Foreign travelers and traders contributed to the wide spread of infectious diseases like cholera. A look at the general information, sources of infection and risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention and control will give a further insight on cholera.
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.
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.