Introduction: Traditional Methods versus the Alternative Medicine
No matter how hard people will try to put a stop to the existing diseases, there will always be illnesses to battle with. At present, there are two basic ways of curing diseases, which are conventional medicine, which involves taking pills, and complementary medicine, which presupposes an alternative treatment.
Over the past few years, the interest towards complementary medicine has grown greatly, which might mean that conventional medicine has worn out its welcome and that the time has come to try the methods of complementary one.
Following the Footsteps of the Most Recent Innovations
Like any method of handling certain problems, conventional medicine has its positive aspects, as well as several flaws. To start with, it is necessary to mention that traditional medicine is based on profound knowledge and supported by a strong theoretical background. Hence, the effects of conventional medicine are mostly predictable and can be controlled to a considerable degree.
However, conventional medicine also has its flaws. Unfortunately, some medicaments are known for causing considerable side effects. Hence, the use of medicine must be controlled by a specialist, and the specifics of one’s organism must be taken into consideration.
When Complementary Medicine Can Be of Some Help
Alternative treatment has also been known for quite a while. Although it is not as popular as the traditional one, it still has its adepts, and there are several reasons for that. To start with, complementary medicine does not presuppose taking pills or other forms of medicaments. Thus, side effects are avoided. In addition, complementary medicine helps treat chronic illnesses.
In addition, a relatively low price of the medicine must be mentioned in comparison with the high cost for the traditional one. However, there are certain drawbacks of the given method as well. For example, one can never claim that using certain herbs is completely safe.
Choosing the Least of Two Evils: When Medicine Fails
Since the traditional medicine has been proven useful and its effects have been studied well enough to predict what effects it will have on people, it is certain that traditional medicine is less risky than the complementary medicine. In terms of the possible negative effects, the one which can be predicted and, therefore, handled much easier and faster is preferable to the type of medicine the effects of which have not been studied yet.
Therefore, even though both types of treatment have a lot of drawbacks, one must agree that each of these methods is quite a legitimate way of disease treatment. Studying the problem and learning what factors it was caused by, traditional medicine helps to pin down the problem, while the alternative medicine can be used to decrease the side effects of some traditional medicine.
Conclusion: Where Science Fears to Tread
As it has been mentioned above, both complementary and conventional types of medicine have their strong and weak points. On the plus side, conventional medicine has been time-tested long enough for people to be certain that it will not backfire them in any way. In addition, the positive effects of the conventional medicine, as well as the possible side effects, can be predicted easily.
However, when it comes to complementary medicine, one must give it credit for being less radical. However, the objectiveness of the latter makes it clear that complementary medicine needs to develop more theoretical background. Hence, for efficient treatment of the disease, both methods should be used for more efficiency.