Alternative Medicine - The History
Alternative medicine dates back to around 5000 years, where traditional treatments were followed by many cultures, of which the traditional Chinese medicine and Indian Ayurvedic medicine were predominant. Such was the belief that the spirit, body and mind had to be in harmony with the energy of the person's heart and soul. The doctors helped the process of healing by naming and removing obstacles that would make the cure possible. The person has to follow certain changes in his life according to the demands in the therapy. Change in lifestyle like eating and excercising, then, preventative measures and self care were included.
The roots of complementary and alternative medicine as we know it go back thousands of years where mostly Indian, Chinese and similar healing traditions were practised. There was no difference in the skills between the doctors and today's dieticians and herbalists throughout the beginning of the nineteenth century as they relied upon strict mannerisms and proved their kindness with compassion and time. The fascinating thing is that people relied on almost same type of therapies as their ancestors' till the early twentieth century. Importance back in the days was a "transition in air", leeches, laxatives and prayers to say the least. This brought upon a lot of hope and success in the heart and minds of many people.
Purgation and blood-lettings were some of the most harmful practices during the nineteenth century and to avoid such practices, complementary medicines had become a formality to primitive practices. But, many were used as alternatives which were developed in the 19th century. Blood-letting is an awfully painful procedure wherein considerable amounts of blood were withdrawn from the patient to either cure or prevent the illness and disease. Up-to the late 19th century, this practice was the most widely used which was like at a time span of about two thousand years! Purgation is the process in which compounds or drugs such as laxatives are used to induce bowel movement. These foods are used to fasten the elimination of food remains in the stomach. Having advanced from grass-roots resurgence in the 1950s, the alternative health cause is now acknowledged in every part of our day-to-day life. Unhealthy diets, rampant consumerism, environmental degradation are some of the causes which people were against in the early 50s.
The Second World War brought about magnificent changes in the society. According to a sentence written in a journalist's book which was published in the 1950s, it was proved to be a sheer quackery with attempts at healing in a series of medical breakthroughs. Under the category of medical breakthroughs was a strong anti-inflammatory medicine called cortisone, penicillin discovery, streptomycin - antibiotic effective in the treatment of tuberculosis, diabetes treatment antibiotic - insulin and schizophrenia controlling drug called chlorpromazine.
Programs such as open-heart surgery, kidney transplants, hip replacements and successful vaccination camps improved the standards by a huge margin which resulted in saving countless number of people. Obtaining the most from alternative medicine and mainstream was a fragile process for a lot of people.