<< Information
and Advice Index
Some
Differences Between Conventional Medicine
and Complementary
and Alternative Medicine
Conventional Medicine
• Focuses on treating symptoms rather than the underlying cause of illness.
This often means suppressing symptoms that are actually signs of your body attempting
to heal itself. For example, a fever is not a disease itself, it is the body’s
way of trying to destroy unhealthy bacteria or viruses. A cough is the body’s
way of expelling excess mucous. Suppressing these types of symptoms with drugs
interferes with the body’s own healing mechanisms, and can make things
worse.
• Often looks for a single cause for a disease, when there may in fact
be many contributing causes, both physical and emotional.
• Treats single body parts or systems in isolation from other parts, ignoring
the connection between different systems, including the mind-body connection
(the patient is not treated in an holistic manner).
• Uses more invasive treatments, including drugs and surgery.
• Often too little time is spent with the patient, and the approach of
some doctors is clinical.
• Conventional doctors generally have little training in nutrition and
often ignore sound nutritional approaches to the prevention and treatment of
illness.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Natural Therapies)
• Treats a person as a whole (holistic approach), looking for all factors
(physical, psychological, emotional and environmental) that may be contributing
to illness.
• More time is spent with the patient to fully understand the person as
a whole.
• Takes into account the mind-body connection (physical symptoms can stem
from emotional or mental problems, and vice versa).
• Takes into account environmental influences on health, e.g. toxins in
food and personal care products, pollutants in the air and water.
• Strong focus on prevention of illness through healthy diet, lifestyle
and nutritional and herbal supplements.
• Treatments support the body’s own ability to heal itself, rather
than undermining it.
• Treatments are mostly non-invasive.
• More responsibility is placed on the patient to make changes that promote
health and healing.
For advice on how to combine the use of conventional
and complementary and alternative medicine for the best
results see How
to Use Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
References
top
<< Information
and Advice Index
|
