Illness is an unfortunate fact of life, and as a result, healthcare has become a vital part of our everyday routine. The healthcare industry is an important one, but it is also one that is arguably lucrative, extremely powerful and unfortunately very crowded. Luckily, there is an alternative type of medicine that is starting to push its way through to the limelight. Alternative medicines are hardly a new concept, but with the cost of healthcare rising every day, is it any wonder that people are turning to these options? Whether you’re in need of a Varicose veins treatment or a spot of aromatherapy is more your speed, we’re investigating the conventional vs alternative medication debate.
Being healthy is a lifestyle thing, not an illness thing.
When it comes to our health, it’s no secret that some of us tend to not truly pay attention until something is wrong, but healthcare starts long before the illness breaks out. When we don’t take care of our bodies and everything they have to offer us, they can become run down and worn out. With a tired immune system, illnesses are much more likely. However, while a trip to the doctor and some prescribed medication can treat many medical conditions, alternative therapies, a good nutritional diet and exercise can arguably prevent you from ever getting ill in the first place.
Illnesses need to be treated, not postponed.
Traditional medications are typically used for crisis intervention. In other words, the drugs will often only relieve the symptoms of an illness, rather than actually treat the chronic illness. When we have a headache, how many of us will reach for a painkiller, rather than seek out the root of the issue? It’s likely to be a worrying number. Alternative medications such as acupuncture and acupressure can help relieve and treat the likes of arthritis, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, hormone imbalances and all kinds of muscle pain, as opposed to simply masking the pain that they may be causing. However, some conventional medicines do treat the illnesses they are designed for, but this is on a case-by-case basis.
Pain is a sign we’re doing something wrong, not that something is wrong.
… Or so alternative healers say – and they may have a point. When we have a headache, this isn’t our body saying that something is wrong, exactly, but is instead our body’s way of telling us that something we’re doing is wrong. Whether it’s staring at a screen for too long, not getting the right nutrients, not getting enough sleep or something else entirely, pain is like a notification that informs you something needs to change. It can be useful for assessing if there is something that needs to be treated with medications, conventional or otherwise, or whether a medical alternative could be all that is needed in the case of excess stress, depression or a lack of the right nutrition.
Costly medication isn’t always necessary.
It’s no secret that conventional, orthodox medicines can be expensive, and extremely so at that. From pills, to treatments, patients are paying out far more than they can afford every single day for a treatment that they arguably may not even need. Healthy eating, regular exercise and worthwhile sleep are all the best medicine for a lot of illnesses, and where they aren’t, an alternative medicine could be.
Regardless of whether you turn to aromatherapy for illness caused by stress, take to acupressure in the case of muscle tension or pain or take a deeper look into what kind of alternative medicines could help your condition, you aren’t stuck with conventional medication. Which one is best? That’s an answer you need to decide for yourself, but both are available, and both are being proven to work, so why not try an alternative therapy next time?