Jan
29
The Role Of Alternative Medicine And Your Healthcare
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Alternative Medicine And Its Important Role In Your Healthcare.
Alternative Medicine is redefining the boundaries of individual health and well being and is beginning to change the definition of what it means to be healthy in today’s fast-paced, stress-filled environment and offers a whole new realm of options for today’s consumer to choose from in the process of determining their healthcare needs.
You may be surprised to discover that Alternative Medicine may be covered in your healthcare policy, which offers a broader scope of coverage than managed care alone, and may well reduce your overall cost of healthcare in general and even improve the future quality of life that you and your family will enjoy in the years to come.
The realization that the definition of health should be, and can be, far better than simply, free from injury or disease, represents a gradual shift in the way of thinking for both the consumer as well as the healthcare provider. It is this realization that is allowing Alternative Medicine to not only enter mainstream modern medicine, but also to partner with Conventional Medicine in a new and profound way as one of many successful avenues of treatment available to today’s consumer of health.
Fifteen to Twenty years ago, there were few recognized, alternatives to conventional medicine, at least not in the West. This is not to say that alternatives did not exist, quite the contrary, they were simply not considered a serious option in improving ones health. This is no longer the case.
Dissatisfaction with the managed care system of the past decade, coupled with one important event and a slight shift in thinking created the perfect conditions for Alternative Medicine to flourish.
First, the cost of healthcare skyrocketed. Rising costs for diagnostic and treatment of injury and disease fueled an inevitable shift in focus, primarily from treatment to prevention, and this created the perfect niche that would soon be filled by the proactive stance that Alternative Medicine prevention provides. Simply put, when costs rise people begin asking questions and seeking alternatives.
Second, with the Information Age in full swing, access to quality information from a variety of sources translated into patients being better informed of healthcare issues and therefore more involved in their treatment options, if for no other reason than as a means to reduce their overall healthcare costs.
Alternative Medicine and Conventional Medicine approach healthcare issues in very different ways.
Conventional Medicine hinges on "the diagnosis of a patient’s condition. This means that conventional medicine enters the healthcare process after the patient has been injured or after an ailment or disease has progressed to the level where an accurate diagnosis can be made. Once made, the diagnosis dictates both the treatment, accomplished via drug therapy and/or surgery, and the cost. Conventional Medicine exits the healthcare process once the malady has been identified, cured, or removed and is normally a temporary fix.
Contrast this to Alternative Medicine, which is focused on "preventing a problem, meaning that Alternative Medicine by its very nature attempts, and prefers, to enter the healthcare process before the patient is injured or becomes ill. Prevention is the first line of defense. When this frontline is penetrated by injury or disease, Alternative Medicine makes every attempt to "assist the body in healing itself, via natural means, whenever and wherever possible.
Alternative Medicine is thus non-invasive, even passive and more long-term, meaning that it becomes part of a consumer’s healthcare regime and does not so quickly exit the health process, if at all. This will translate into lower costs for wellness over the lifespan of an individual. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and at no other time has this statement been more true, especially if the cure requires an expensive antibiotic, surgery and/or an extended, or even brief, hospital stay.
Nutrition and lifestyle changes alone can easily reduce the incidence of costly injury and disease, decrease the need for costly maintenance medications and increase the likelihood of a better quality of life.
The healthcare consumer of today is expected to be both well informed and totally involved in the decisions surrounding their personal health and well being. Not limited to local or even national healthcare options, the patient of this next century will enjoy global access to both information and treatment options.
Healthcare policies are already positioning themselves for this global marketplace and are embracing Alternative Medicine as a means of lowering their own liability and costs as well as expanding their consumer pool. Consumers should make sure their healthcare policies reflect these changing attitudes and include a much broader spectrum of healthcare options.
What is the quality of your health worth? Today’s "non-traditional healthcare programs are the cornerstone of holistic health and the mainstay of the future quality of life that you and your family will enjoy in the years to come. Make sure your policy answers this question to the greatest satisfaction for you and your family.
By: Petrea Dishman -
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Jan
29
The Definition Of Alternative Medicine
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The Definition Of Alternative Medicine
Have you ever suffered from a horrible headache when you thought the best remedy might be for someone to bash you over the head, or to pull your hair out? Then you might have some experience with alternative medicine!
In all seriousness, alternative medicine is not about hurting yourself, but involves investigating other potential methods to treat an ailment besides synthetic drugs. A good purpose for alternative medicine is to avoid developing a dependence on drugs of any type, which can supersede any medicinal or curing effects they might have. Searching for different ways of dealing with your physical or emotional issues or conditions can end up being better for you in the long run.
A great deal of alternative medicine treatments come from ancient medicinal knowledge and insight. Many different types of remedies used by different cultures through the years, including the use of needles for pain relief, herbs for medicinal treatments, or even massage therapy, are considered a form of medicine by the respective users because they work to some degree. However, many alternative treatments are unknown to the general public, as they are not in conformity with the mass marketed treatments and pharmaceuticals.
The definition of alternative medicine
There is really no one ultimate definition of alternative medicine. There are so many various methods and treatments that have been and continue to be investigated and promoted that it is hard to firmly define it.
Some of these alternative names to alternative medicine include holistic medicine, natural medicine, integrated medicine, and complementary medicine. They are all variations of the same idea, which is natural and alternative medicine. The design of alternative medicine is to ensure that all parts of a person’s life and being are well and strong.
The point of view of the alternative medicine collective
A standard of those who advocate alternative medicine is that health isn’t only the absence of illness or disease. Alternative medicine works to ensure that one’s purpose in life is sustained, because a person without a purpose is not able to achieve his fullest potential. There needs to be inspiration and motivation to allow life to be lived to its fullest.
It is thought that illness might not be the end of one’s world. Infection is not the only cause of sickness. The mind has the power to change one’s personality completely. Take the great warrior king Asoka, for example. He was so stirred by the death and devastation brought about by the Kalinga war that he became a Buddhist reformer. In this respect, illness has the capacity to bring about change, to make us better human beings. For that reason, alternative medicine strives to consider not only the physical health of a person, but also his personality and emotions in treating ailments and bringing about total well-being.
Sometimes, when you aren’t feeling that great, it might be better to relax by listening to calming music, taking a walk, or just thinking about life, rather than taking a pill to treat something momentarily. Discovering your purpose will give you a feeling of strength and the realization that life is worth living!
By: Ken Snowie
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Jan
29
Alternative Medicine - Why The Rage And What Is It?
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Alternative Medicine - Why The Rage And What Is It?
Alternative medicine seems to have become the ‘NEW BLACK’ in the world of medicine. More and more people are heading towards different forms of keeping healthy than the conventional run of the mill way of doing things. There is no clear definition of ‘Alternative medicine’ but the general consensus seems to be that it is ‘non conventional.’
Nearly everyone is thinking about or doing either reflexology or aromatherapy , acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, western herbal medicine, Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine), dietary therapy, homeopathy, seeking advice from spiritual healers or a little of them all. And so we see the different ways and means of non conventional medical treatment that goes on.
Why is it the rage? Alternative medication tends to focus more on the patient than the disease. I hear you asking why that is a good thing. Well we are all unique individuals and what works for the one may not always work for the next. In fact in some cases the medication prescribed is nothing but a complete waste of time. There are sometimes other underlying issues at play that conventional medicine does not always see.
It has been said that conventional medicine may be quite effective in dealing with traumatic injury and crises yet it tends to fall short in understanding and effectively treating chronic diseases and degeneration. Conventional medicine focuses on the symptoms while alternative medicine generally takes the more holistic approach.
People are also getting tired of the general adverse effects, the battling of addictions and the increased costs of the more conventional side of medicine. Health care around the world tends to cover less and less and people have had enough. That coupled with the fact that when most doctors may be focusing on the symptoms, they have little, if any regard for the patient and the emotional trauma that they go through. All this leaves a rather bad taste in the patients’ mouth.
Prescription drugs tend to be habit forming and they may have serious adverse side effects that will only be discovered after the fact. Many prescription and over the counter drugs originated from herbs or have herbs as part of the content. Some experts have gone so far as to state the chemical medication that we get prescribed are not defined properly and tend to be rather misleading in what the health risks may be.
Herbs have been used for time and memorial in treating diseases and ailments and it has come back into popularity with a bang. Probably because there uses are so vast. They not only act as a cure in ailments but they are also great as a preventative. Adaptogenic herbs are herbs that increase resistance and resilience in the bodies’ immune system and then you have the tonics that are taken for increased energy. Herbs can be used internally or made into salves or balms for external usage. Herbal teas are great as a relaxant.
Chinese Herbal medicine is an ancient form of healing that originated approximately 4000 years ago and until the time of the renaissance it was far more successful in treating illnesses than Western Medicine. Chinese Herbal medicine incorporates the Yin and Yang, the flow of Qi (pronounced Chee) and the theory of the 5 elements. Health is when the flow of Qi (energy) is balanced because of a constant dynamic process between the yin and the yang. Chinese medicine is extremely effective, safe and gentle.
Ayurveda comes from the words ayus meaning ‘life’ and veda meaning ‘knowledge’. Its beginnings is purported to come from ancient Hindu Sanskrit written on palm leaves. Herbal medicine is given in conjunction to massages, change of diet and yoga exercises.
I am not suggesting that herbs are without dangers because there are very real ones (arsenic is natural, and we are all aware of the dangers of ephedra), so herbs are only to be used as directed by an Herbalist. Always tell you Doctor if and what herbs you are already taking as some herbs clash horribly and the side effects can be quite dangerous when taken in conjunction with Chemical drugs.
By: Michelle Ludick
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