Alternative Medicine: Healing of the Past & the Future

Alternative Medicine Healing of the Past & the Future ALTERNATIVE TRENDS 1830s Doctors fought cholera with 3 widely used treatments of the time: Bloodletting - cutting open a vein or applying leeches Cholera spread across America and doctors had little power against it Opium - stress relief and relaxation It is believed more than 150,000 Americans died during the two pandemics between 1832 and 1849. Another 50,000 died in the Calomel - a chalky medicine which acts as a 'purging" laxative fourth pandemic of 1866 As cholera spread, Americans began to turn to practitioners of new alternative medicine: HOMEOPATHY Homeopathy is based on the idea that "like cures like' > Substances that cause illness can also be the cure if highly diluted > Some remedies are so diluted that there appears to be no dosage at all Remedies are made mostly of water & People noticed they had a better chance of surviving cholera with homeopathy > Result: Homeopathy became hugely popular in the 19th century a little alcohol 1970 Homeopathy was ' near extinction THALIDOMIDE: SEDATIVE FREQUENTLY USED AS A SLEEPING PILL IN THE 60'S Thalide 20th century medicine, such as antibiotics and open heart surgery, made it almost obsolete After WWII, 1 out of 7 Americans took thalidomide, which resulted in shortening or absence of limbs in many children born during that time 1 doz Suzy But, incidents, like the thalidomide tragedy of the '60s, caused a loss of faith in mainstream medicine Once again, America turned to alternative medicine > Alternative medicine rejects all forms of mainstream medicine Today, nearly 40% of Americans use alternative or complementary medicine as part of their > Complementary medicine uses alternative medicine together with mainstream medicine health care common ALTERNATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINES ACUPUNCTURE BENEFITS The World Health Organization says acupuncture treats more than 28 medical conditions including: Acupuncture is thousands of years old and comes from China and other Asian nations pain respiratory disorders digestive disorders fibromyalgia Practitioners use thin needles to change the flow of qi, the energy in the body nausea headaches Needles are inserted into more than 400 specific points More than 3 million people use acupuncture in the U.s. BENEFITS HOMEOPATHY Can be used by pregnant and nursing women Does not interfere with other medications Homeopathic practitioners prescribe a variety of pills on a case-by-case basis If a prescription is incorrect, it is still safe Doses are extremely small and may include plant-based remedies and other traditional practices Can help ease chronic conditions About 2% of the U.S. population uses this type of medicine for treatment or prevention Individualized to treat the person rather than symptoms Typically inexpensive HYPNOTISM BENEFITS Can help patients with addiction Eg. smoking or food addiction Hypnotists guide a person to a different state of being Can treat insomnia They then make subtle suggestions to improve health and wellness Provides stress relief > pain management > relief from headaches Scientists know little about why hypnosis works, but it has been proven to create biological reactions and to stimulate the nervous system > help during childbirth BENEFITS YOGA relaxation flexibility circulation Yoga has been a traditional treatment for thousands of years stress reduction eases depression Yoga is cost-effective, accessible to everyone and poses few risks controls high blood pressure and diabetes symptoms reduces inflammation More than 7% of people in the U.S. practice yoga improves symptoms of asthma eases back pain AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (OBAMACARE) AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE > Obamacare may make the use of alternative medicine more convenient and widely accepted » Debates about the effectiveness of alternative medicine has made this legislature more controversial » The act specifically mentions complementary medicine and alternative medicine in 7 different > Obamacare prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against alternative healthcare providers sections in the law > If is currently unclear exactly which alternative medicines will be covered > This was implemented to reduce cost of patient care Treatments in alternative medicine can be significantly less expensive than mainstream treatments Sources: Presented by http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2000_fal/1832_cholera.part2html. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/13-benefits-of-homeopathy htmlipage=2 http://www.wbty.com/story/20407636/obamacare-to-cover-acupuncture-alternative-medicine http://scienceinsociety northwesternedu/content/articles/2009/research-digest/thalidomide/title-tba Insurance Quotes.com http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-most-popular-alternative-medicine-treatments.htm N NOWSOURCING http://www.thehistorychannelclub.com/articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/349/the-fall-and-rise-of-alternative-medicine R.I.P.