It's a multi-billion dollar
Many people who use alternative medicine will say it works, while many, many others will say otherwise.
Now there are a lot of things that I have notice about alternative medicine, but I have narrowed it down to five different things.
So here are five things I've noticed about alternative medicine:
5. It has a lot to do about nothing.
Alternative medicine products and services basically comes in two different forms: does nothing and uses nothing.
Most alternative medicine just doesn't work at all (such as homeopathy), and the few that actually does do something, the effects are minor and no where near as effective as real medicine, and could even be harmful if done improperly.
Then there are some that not only does nothing, but uses nothing as well. Reiki healing is a prime example of this as practitioners of Reiki healing practitioners claim that they use "energy" from some unknown source to "heal" people. Sometimes they will use crystals to harness this power. Sometimes they'll just use their hands. Regardless of how they "harness" this energy, they all do the same thing: nothing.
4. It works off of anecdotal evidence
Some of the best "evidence" that practitioners of alternative medicine have about how effect the products and services they offer works is anecdotal evidence. In fact it's not just best evidence they can give, it's also often the only evidence they can ever give (besides the stuff they make up) mainly because scientific experimentation and testing have proven that their products and services are useless.
Most practitioners of alternative medicine will tell you that their products and services does make people feel better, what they often don't tell you is how long it took to fix or cure whatever was ailing those who used their products or services, or whether they were using real medicine and medical services along with the alternative medicine, or how many people it didn't work for and ended up having to go and get real medicine and medical services when the alternative medicine failed to cure any thing but perhaps a heavy wallet. And that's another thing about alternative medicine...
3. It gets expensive.
Some alternative medicine is cheap (or at least it seems that way) but a lot of it is either over priced and even cost to much for some to use (which can be a good thing in a way, because the expense forces that person to go get real medicine). Even for people with health insurance it can still get expensive because most health insurance companies will not pay for alternative medicine, so a person who wants to use alternative medicine will have to pay for it out of pocket.
Even for the alternative medicine that isn't expensive, and can still get expensive because you have to keep buying and using it over and over again until either whatever is ailing you heals up on it's own, or you wise up and get real medicine, or you just keep buying the same useless stuff and forgo real medicine because you've been tricked into believing it works, even when it is obvious it doesn't.
Now being expensive for either a product or service that either doesn't work, or hardly does anything at all is a very negative part about alternative medicine, but it is not as bad as the fact that...
2. It is dangerous.
If you're taking an alternative medical treatment for either a cold or a cough then really the only damage your causing is to your wallet, but if you're taking alternative medical treatment for either cancer, or HIV, or anything that can kill you, then it becomes dangerous because you are forgoing proven medical treatments for something that doesn't work, and could possibly make it worse.
Besides just being dangerous because the belief that alternative medicine works can cause a person to forgo getting real medicine and medical treatments and instead get alternative medicine and medical treatments, some of this stuff can be dangerous if improperly done (like chiropractic) or overused (like colloidal silver) or if to much is taken at once (like Laetrile) and even outright used at all (like Cansema).
1. It's legally questionable.
Besides just coming in the forms of doing nothing and using nothing, alternative medicine also comes in another two other basic forms: doesn't work, and harmful. Because of this many forms of alternative medicine are in legal gray areas (besides the ones that are illegal) due to the fact that for the most part they don't work, many people believe that all forms of alternative medicine should be viewed as fraud and made illegal, and that all products that has shown to be dangerous should be made illegal because they are a dangerous fraud.
Besides the fact that alternative medicine is legally questionable, there have already been some ramifications when concerning alternative medicine. Some products have been made illegal because they are either dangerous, or just don't work. Insurance companies have no legal obligation to pay for alternative medicine, and often do not. Some people have even had their children taken away because they refused to get their children real medical treatment (often times for stuff that's life threatening) and use alternative medicine as a "substitute".
Many practitioners of alternative medicine have also been sued by their clients, either for fraud because they were sold a product or service that did not work, or because their product or service injured their client and actually increased their medical bills, or even left them disabled.
Many practitioners of alternative medicine have also been fined by the government, forced to shut down their operations, and in some extreme cases, sent to prison for fraud and practicing medicine without a license.
Did you know that pharmaceuticals cause over 100,000 unnecessary deaths a year in the US? That is people using the prescription medication exactly as directed, but still dying.
ReplyDeleteNo one forces anyone to undergo alternative therapies, it is a choice that people make for themselves understanding what the risks are.
Where exactly did you get this number from? I have no doubt that people do die from medication even when done as directed, but I do wonder if it is that high or not.
DeleteYou're correct in that no on forces an adult to undergo alternative medical therapies, but kids on the other hand don't have that choice in what their parents choose for them, and if their parents choose for them to undergo alternative therapies, then what choice do they have???
There are many different research studies, but I think you'll find this article one the most comprehensive. http://chriskresser.com/medical-care-is-the-3rd-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-us
DeleteIn the case of children, did you hear the story of Katie Wernecke who was taken from her parents and forced to have chemotherapy against her family and the girls will. For 5 months she was away from her loving family and the condition was getting worse. It was only when she was thought to be in a state where she was dying, that the court allowed her to go home and try alternative therapies with the family, where she then recovered.
Modern medicine in the majority of cases does not cure, so if we look at something like cancer a child should not be forced to have medical treatment against their or their family's will for a few reasons. 1. There is no guaranteed cure. 2. The risks and long term side effects associated with the treatment are often quite serious. 3. The patient does not pose harm to anyone else in society (ie. she is not infectious) 4. The parents are the legal guardian and they need to do exactly that, guard and look after their child in the way they see fit. The hospital will not nurse them back to good health, the family is responsible for that.
I know of a guy who was taking natural botanical medicine to treat his cancer, but was then forced into modern oncology and passed due to infection from the allopathic stem cell transplant. Is this is acceptable?
Furthermore, many alternative therapies work. The placebo effect is effective 18-80% of the time, that is a huge range! This is in the case of medicine and alternative therapies. So even if you think a therapy or medicine doesn't work for you, it most certainly can for someone else.
Hardly matters because the unregulated alternative med market doesn't keep stats on how many have died using them....or have been seriously injured. There is a deficit of scientific understanding among followers of alt. med....as you can see above....and it most certainly is cult-like. People who do not value evidence will never accept it. People who do not value logical reasoning will never accept it. I would rather think many belong in the Darwin Award category...let them die in their fields of barley..organic barley that is. None will ever try to educate themselves in science because like religions and cults, it threatens their inner world which is where they ask their own questions and find their own answers, immune to any outside or inside critical thinking. Placebo effects only last a short time. Parents only have the right to protect their children; they do NOT have the right to deny them their rights under the Declaration of Human Rights..which is life..as one of them. GET THAT STRAIGHT.
DeleteThis article was a bunch of over simplified, clueless drivel.
ReplyDeleteAs is a lot of alternative medicine...
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