Conventional Medicine And Alternative Medicine Essay, Research Paper

 ?Conventional medicine has little to learn from alternative medicine?.

Today many people in the UK and US choose to be treated by methods that are not based on Western scientific methods, that is the science and practice of medicine which is standard in the West. These methods are known as ?Alternative medicine? or ?Complementary medicine? ,which include homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, aromatherapy, chiropractic medicine, and reflexology among others. Chinese medicine is also increasingly popular.

Unlike alternative medicine, conventional medicine has proven effectiveness and is scientifically based, while alternative medicine has its drawbacks and a lack of scientific basis and its results are not always consistent. For this reason alternative medicine is not generally available on the National Health Service in the UK and other countries, and people have to pay for their own treatment. Whereas some people consider it a mystery and do not dare try it because they believe it might be dangerous or unsafe, some others just consider it as a lot of mumbo jumbo and pay little or no attention to it. People who feel fearful or mistrustful of it claim that if its medicines and potions really worked, then proper doctors would use it.

However, since the early 1980s alternative medicine has become more and more popular, and although it is not officially accepted by the medical profession, some doctors do accept that such methods can be effective in treating some types of illnesses. Furthermore, conventional medicine has its limitations, since some illnesses are incurable and some others which are caused by psychological problems cannot be cured by its methods. In contrast, alternative medicine can be effective in many such circumstances and there is a general acceptance that its methods can be beneficial. Many people who have not found a solution to their problem in conventional medicine have resorted to alternative medicine and obtained effective results, as is the case with hypnotherapy which has helped many people in overcoming problems such as insomnia, stress-related disorders, a smoking habit, an allergy, aches and pains. In addition, people who are in favour of alternative medicine claim that it is good because it is natural. But not all the people who have tried alternative medicine felt enthusiastic about it from the very beginning. On the contrary, many of them mistrusted it and felt apprehensive or sceptic, and after their experience they changed their mind and were pleased with it as they noticed an improvement in their condition. In other cases, however, people who lacked motivation in undergoing such treatments and were unable to take them seriously found them ineffective and felt unconvinced or even resentful after their experience. This shows that most probably motivation and trust on the part of people play an important role in the results of alternative medicine.

In conclusion, it can be said that there can be many potential benefits as well as drawbacks in alternative medicine, and that its effectiveness can depend heavily on people?s reliability and motivation with respect to it. Nevertheless it is not scientifically based and cannot be regarded as having as consistent results as is the case of conventional medicine. In spite of this fact, many people choose to be treated by alternative medicine.

(521 words)