How Old Is Alternative Medicine and the Comparative Allopathic Medicine?

The term alternative medicine has not been around very long. In Le Fanu's work, The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine we see examples of the term being used to refer to practitioners taking on the older medical practices once in common use before the advent of empirical-based medicine which denounced them. The term "alternative medicine" has not been in existence any longer than the second half of the 20th century and perhaps earlier in isolated cases as allopathic medicine replaced holistic health care.

What is Holistic Health Care and How Old Is It?

Holistic health care originates in prehistoric times and most likely been around as long as human beings have existed. Holistic health refers to a number of medical systems, now considered by allopathic medicine to be within the alternative medicine group. These relied (and still do) on the alleged existence of prana, qi - what is known as vital life energy. Many believe that this energy has particular healing qualities and that the human body has these energies inside of them which facilitates self-healing. Today most of the modalities and holistic health systems found in alternative medicine uphold the theory that this energy exists and lends to the belief that wholesome living (clean lifestyles) lends to the promotion of natural healing.

What we have in alternative medicine today represents these philosophies from which allopathic medicine has deviated from. Very old cultures, such as China and India, have always retained the spiritual and emotional aspects of human experience in, not only their cultures, but their health care systems as well, making them holistic health care systems. There is no doubt that Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tibetan Medicine and Ayurveda all have their roots in prehistoric times. A number of other health systems and modalities share in these implications, including allopathic medicine, though indirectly.

What is Allopathic Medicine and How Old Is it?

As late as the early 19th century allopathic medicine, as we know it, was still very unorganized and relied on many truly dangerous procedures and therapies, notorious methods, as blood-letting and extremely caustic chemical preparations we now know are highly toxic. Such men as German Physician, Samuel Hahnemann became so disillusioned with the medical practices of the time that he formed the now-infamous Homeopathic medical system - now considered an alternative medicine, though falling in line with holistic health, in theory and practice.

Allopathic medicine as we know it now is not very old though it is said of Ayurveda to be the Mother of Modern Medicine. Allopathic medicine is a very up-to-date and highly technical scientifically based system and has no repudiated ties to holistic health practices of yesterday. It was Hahnemann who coined the term, allopathic medicine, which in the Greek, means "other suffering." This refers to modern medical's departure from holistic health and treatment of symptoms rather than addressing the causes of the aliment.

How Alternative Medicine, Holistic Health Care and Allopathic Medicine Stand Today

All of these, including allopathic medicine have their origin as far back as prehistoric times though holistic health found in the alternative medicine group continues in the timeless philosophies and theories that the human body is equipped with that life force which is capable of healing on its own and the interruption of these energies can be intervened by the practitioner whose job it is to remove whatever it is that is blocking the natural flow of the energy.

The legacy of alternative medicine lies in its continuation of these ancient, time-tested holistic procedures. Allopathic medicine, despite its incredible contributions to the knowledge of human anatomy and health, sadly has abandoned the holism which is an important part of the medical systems within alternative medicine.

Daniel Euergetes is working hard to helping you rise above mediocrity and reach more satisfactory and more fulfilling planes in living. One of the ways this is done is through education and appropriate resources.

For the health arena, Daniel invites you to check out your alternatives by visiting http://alternativehealthsolutionsmd.com. Here you will find vast resources and answers to your questions about your health options.

Get your FREE copy of Your Health Alternatives report by paying us a visit!

Allopathic Medicine - Its Pros & Cons and a Comparison With Alternative Medicine

Known by several different designations such as "Western modern medicine," "Conventional Medicine" and allopathic medicine," these all refer to the scientific, evidence-based and highly technical body of medical knowledge in Western and European nations. Alternative medicine, from the standpoint of allopathic medicine, is everything else not considered by the American Medical Association to be of little or no use. Both have strengths and weaknesses and in many cases, complement each other despite differences in philosophy, culture and objectives.

The Pros of Allopathic Medicine, the Weaknesses of Alternative Medicine

The strength of allopathic medicine comes in this knowledge and that the modalities, therapies and procedures, recognized as efficacious, have been subjected to strict scientific testing and experimentation. This lends to the highly predictable results found in the treatment and advanced knowledge-base of biological processes - an area which is stressed far less in alternative medicine.

The unprecedented scientific knowledge and the rigid testing of the procedures used, the medical system certainly cannot be beat. For this reason, the allopathic physician is regarded the authority in health care. He has been through extensive training through years of medical school and is under strict guidelines from which he is not allowed to deviate. Alternative medicine tends to be far more individually methodical.

When it comes to emergency situations, especially those which would be otherwise fatal, allopathic medicine, again, holds the highest awards for excellence. No doubt there is not a single modality in alternative medicine that can come close to the effectiveness and life-saving attributes of Western conventional medicine. Those having experienced severe, life-threatening accidents, illnesses and diseases couldn't be found in better hands.

The Cons of Allopathic Medicine - the Strengths of Alternative Medicine

Unlike many of the modalities found in alternative medicines, allopathic medicine comes in several areas. First and foremost, it is a profitable industry, where most of the modalities in alternative medicine tend to be non-profit in nature. The for-profit model has major drawbacks in that the system thrives on illness and disease without which there would be no business. The details here would warrant the writing of a book, let alone an article.

Treatment and therapies, though quite effective, are highly specialized, standardized and departmentalized. It tends to be impersonal, with little or no contact between the patient and the physician outside of the ailment itself. The patient here receives the treatment which he has little say other than to consent to it or not. Little to no explanation outside of patient instructions are given and the patient takes the physician's word on faith, in most cases.

In alternative medicine, treatment is far more individualized, less standardized and the patient participates in his treatment, making it far more personal.

Allopathic medicine, due to both the profit factor and extremely high operating costs, tends to be very expensive, leaving low-income patients with inferior care. Allopathic medicine concerns itself with symptomatic treatment rather than causal, giving rise to another huge empire - the pharmaceutical industry, which is also a for-profit business. Similar to the average Western grocery store which sells more foodstuffs that are generally not the best for health, our pharmacies are jam-packed with medications aimed at relieving symptoms rather than curing the ailment on the level of its cause.

Allopathic medicine (for which this term accurately depicts as being concerned with symptoms rather than causes,) the medical giant has also been deemed a "sick-care" system due to observations noted above. Allopathic medicine generally lacks in areas many modalities in alternative medicine tends to cover, chiefly in the prevention of ill-health and that they are far more concerned with the causes of ailments, less on the treatment for symptoms and that many of the modalities in alternative medicine considers the whole being and not just the biological, making them far more holistic than allopathic medicine.

Daniel Euergetes is working hard to helping you rise above mediocrity and reach more satisfactory and more fulfilling planes in living. One of the ways this is done is through education and appropriate resources.

For the health arena, Daniel invites you to check out your alternatives by visiting http://alternativehealthsolutionsmd.com. Here you will find vast resources and answers to your questions about your health options.

Get your FREE copy of "Your Health Alternatives" report by paying us a visit!