Online Articles: Health & Alternative Medicine
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Contact Dermatitis: · Contact Dermatitis Definitions · Contact Dermatitis Treatment Herbal Articles: |
Homeopathy Articles: · What is Homeopathy? · Homeopathic Approaches · Schüssler Cell Salts Nutrition Articles: |
| Natural Healing Introduction Articles (more pages will be added in the coming weeks): | ||
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· Introduction · Acupuncture · Aromatherapy · Autogenic Training · Ayurveda · Biofeedback |
· Chiropractic Treatment · Color Therapy · Hydrotherapy · Hypnotherapy · Light Therapy · Magnetism |
· Reflexology · Reiki · Sound Therapy · Therapeutic Touch · Visualization · Yoga & Meditation |
Alternative Medicine refers to all natural remedies and therapies other than those used by standard (orthodox) medical treatments. In general, alternative medicine is not recognized by standard medical practitioners. Instead, the term Complementary Medicine is preferred because it doesn't imply that there is an easy replacement for standard medicine. Others prefer the terms Natural Healing or Naturopathic Healing.
Complementary medicine is used with standard medicine to enhance treatment and speed the healing process. The conventional medical system agrees that medication does not heal by itself but assists the body to heal itself. Natural medication and natural therapies can then be used alongside & complementary to standard medicine or as an alternative treatment. Do not fall prey to the erroneous belief that there is no hope in your case: Because such belief is counter productive.
Not all natural remedies are safe. Alternative medicine side effects, although rare, do occur and no one can easily predict individual reactions. Whether a remedy - natural or chemical - is safe may ultimately have to be determined by the individual patient. Any product can trigger an allergic reaction or cause other severe health problems. Over-the-counter medications and 'harmless' oils, lotions, creams and common food items are no exception (see our article on Contact Dermatitis).
Misuse of natural remedies also does not help. For example, Ephedra has been medicinally used for hundreds or thousands of years in its original form as the herb Desert tea (America) or Ma huang (China), but it's rampant misuse in recent years has been linked to hundreds of deaths in the States, where it is now banned.
Almost any herb, food or medication can cause harm when misused or if the dosage is too high. For example, just a small overdose of Digitalis (an extract of the herb Foxglove used in the treatment of heart disease) may lead to death. For another example consider Vitamin A. A massive overdose of Vitamin A can be toxic leading to headaches, nausea, liver problems and even birth defects.
Look for a qualified health care professional or a trained naturopathic doctor with experience and a good reputation to find out if you are a candidate for natural healing treatments.
