Given the high cost of modern medicine, do any of you use traditional medicine to treat benign ailments?
I personally use herbs to treat colds, insomnia, digestive discomforts, etc... I even grow some herbs in my own backyard and dry them for teas or herbal tinctures.
What about you?
Traditional Medicine
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AlexOliver
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:25 pm
Colds and Flu-- Hot lemonade, honey, and a tad of Jack Daniels.
Headaches--Soft Music, a hot rice bag, and a short fizzy coke.
Aches and Pains of Old Age-- Classic Rock and Roll and a few Killian's Irish Red or Newcastle Brown Ale. Later, couch time.
Maybe a little cruising around in the GMC.
Pissed off 'edness--Repeating over and over: "It's better to be pissed off---than pissed on."
Headaches--Soft Music, a hot rice bag, and a short fizzy coke.
Aches and Pains of Old Age-- Classic Rock and Roll and a few Killian's Irish Red or Newcastle Brown Ale. Later, couch time.
Maybe a little cruising around in the GMC.
Pissed off 'edness--Repeating over and over: "It's better to be pissed off---than pissed on."
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RightClawSouth
- Posts: 123
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:15 am
I am extremely skeptical of "traditional medicine".
The whole idea that there's some conspiracy between big pharma and doctors to keep us away from cheap traditional medicine is BS.
Evidence based medicine with double blind trials is the only medicine I would want to use. Anything else is at best a placebo (not necessarily a bad thing) and at worst detrimental to your health either because you didn't get real medicine that you needed or what you took was actually bad for you.
The whole idea that there's some conspiracy between big pharma and doctors to keep us away from cheap traditional medicine is BS.
Evidence based medicine with double blind trials is the only medicine I would want to use. Anything else is at best a placebo (not necessarily a bad thing) and at worst detrimental to your health either because you didn't get real medicine that you needed or what you took was actually bad for you.
I've had mixed success, although this isn't exactly a double-blind test. And (fortunately) I only have minor problems.
Sweet Tea (tastes OK) and Dandelion (only tastes OK young) don't seem to do anything for me. But then I'm not exactly sick when I eat them.
None of the herbal headache remedies seem to do as well as generic acetaminophen.
But Jewelweed does seem to help with minor scratches and poison ivy.
Sweet Tea (tastes OK) and Dandelion (only tastes OK young) don't seem to do anything for me. But then I'm not exactly sick when I eat them.
None of the herbal headache remedies seem to do as well as generic acetaminophen.
But Jewelweed does seem to help with minor scratches and poison ivy.
I don't use anything as a remedy for specific ailments, but have a general view that rest and nutrition are the best cures for illnesses caused by the lack thereof (i.e. most of the major causes of death in the US)
I'm highly skeptical of Western medicines general practice of "curing the symptom" by throwing (highly profitable) drugs at a problem, instead of making the lifestyle changes that would turn around the real underlying issue
As a simple example, we take drugs to reduce a fever which results in prolonging sickness, as a fever is the bodies method of killing off the bad bacteria or viruses.
I'm highly skeptical of Western medicines general practice of "curing the symptom" by throwing (highly profitable) drugs at a problem, instead of making the lifestyle changes that would turn around the real underlying issue
As a simple example, we take drugs to reduce a fever which results in prolonging sickness, as a fever is the bodies method of killing off the bad bacteria or viruses.
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DividendGuy
- Posts: 441
- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 9:58 pm
Rightclawsouth: I agree that there is no "Medicine conspiracy" any more than there is a "consumerism conspiracy" between product manufacturers and advertisers. Nevertheless, many here would agree that "alternative" methods such as making your own soap, growing your own food, and buying/repairing used goods can have a great cost/reward ratio. Alternative medicine can give simar returns once you separate the fads and snake oil from the simply effective remedies. And with both medicine and consumerism, the system is set up in such a way that there is immense pressure to follow a certain way of life.
I personally see nothing wrong with taking an aspirin to sooth aches during a cold... It's not much different from chewing on some willow bark in the old days. I'll even choose ibuprofen instead if aspirin hurts my stomach. But there's no reason to check into the hospital.
I personally see nothing wrong with taking an aspirin to sooth aches during a cold... It's not much different from chewing on some willow bark in the old days. I'll even choose ibuprofen instead if aspirin hurts my stomach. But there's no reason to check into the hospital.
The whole key to keeping your medical expense low is to not get sick. Alternative/holistic medicine are geared towards prevention. That is key.
Conventional medicne methods are based larely on research that are statistically based. A larger number of subjects benefitted from therapy vs no therapy. Often a large number would have gotten better anyway, or, conversely, more would not. What about the often larege number who fail? Is there something different about them? Is the drug harmful in the long run? To only a statistically smaller group? Preventtion is better!
JP MD
Conventional medicne methods are based larely on research that are statistically based. A larger number of subjects benefitted from therapy vs no therapy. Often a large number would have gotten better anyway, or, conversely, more would not. What about the often larege number who fail? Is there something different about them? Is the drug harmful in the long run? To only a statistically smaller group? Preventtion is better!
JP MD
A study can show low (but real) efficacy. If the compound is unpatentable and dirt cheap to make, there will not be many people willing to sell it (low reward, and as opposed to something like aspirin which has high efficacy). Thus there will be no marketing, etc. Thus, even though the product may have cost/efficacy ratio similar to prescription drugs, the compound will be "alternative". Also, If there's less commercial value, there will be fewer people willing to fund proper studies.
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AlexOliver
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:25 pm
Chad-- what if you take it and it works for you?! Placebo, personal characteristics, who knows-- medicine is not an exact science.
I sometimes give antibiotics and other meds that don't work for that individual. They are supposed to, statistically, but they don't and I have to switch them to something else.
Its all based on a Bell shaped curve that should work within 2 standard deviations. People don't always function like that.
And.. we get new info (all the time) that studies were flawed. That something that "worked", doesn't.
Keep an open mind, I do... You will be healthier and retired.
I sometimes give antibiotics and other meds that don't work for that individual. They are supposed to, statistically, but they don't and I have to switch them to something else.
Its all based on a Bell shaped curve that should work within 2 standard deviations. People don't always function like that.
And.. we get new info (all the time) that studies were flawed. That something that "worked", doesn't.
Keep an open mind, I do... You will be healthier and retired.
Some meds are promoted, and very profitable, for treating unhealthy lifestyle. Lifestyle changes, in America, have become "alternative" due to their mass unappeal. Cholesterol, anti-acid, pain, even some blood pressure and heart meds/procedures, treat lifestyle errors. If we change eating, exercise, risky habits, think of the mony saved. HC expenditures are unsustainable.
JP MD
JP MD
Modern medicine has become a fraud... Futilely throwing prescriptions at downstream problems, never turning their head to look upstream...
Not knocking the revolutionary advancements that took place in medicine. But IMO these are mostly mechanical... I wouldn't want surgery from a traditional practitioner. That said, I won't take anything from a modern practitioner without exercising extreme caution.
Studies are fixed, regulatory agencies owned, politicians bought. 3 out of every 4 pharma dollars are spent on lobbying and marketing... That right there clearly displays that they are not the miracle factory they claim to be.
Not knocking the revolutionary advancements that took place in medicine. But IMO these are mostly mechanical... I wouldn't want surgery from a traditional practitioner. That said, I won't take anything from a modern practitioner without exercising extreme caution.
Studies are fixed, regulatory agencies owned, politicians bought. 3 out of every 4 pharma dollars are spent on lobbying and marketing... That right there clearly displays that they are not the miracle factory they claim to be.
@ Jampit3
I do actually keep an open mind on this stuff, and have come to the same conclusion you did with "everyone doesn't function the same." I do actually take some of the more well proven alternative remedies (fish oil, Q10), tried Echinacea (though, it doesn't work for me), and follow the eating advice (olive oil, whole foods, etc.). Though, I'm always highly skeptical of anything the "ancient chinese" took.
Ultimately, I still rely on studies to prove these methods.
I do actually keep an open mind on this stuff, and have come to the same conclusion you did with "everyone doesn't function the same." I do actually take some of the more well proven alternative remedies (fish oil, Q10), tried Echinacea (though, it doesn't work for me), and follow the eating advice (olive oil, whole foods, etc.). Though, I'm always highly skeptical of anything the "ancient chinese" took.
Ultimately, I still rely on studies to prove these methods.