“Doctor, I m coughing and sneezing. I have itchy eyes, a drippy nose, '
and I ache all over. What's wrong with me? What should I do?"
"Take two aspirin and go to bed," one doctor advises.
"No, no. Drink this herbal tea," says another.
“Don't listen to them," argues the acupuncturist. “Come here and
let me put some needles in your back."
Who hasthe best remedy? All of them, some people would say,
because they believe that there is more than one approach to healing
and many ways to practice medicine.
In general, modern medicine treats the body as if it were av
machine made up of many separate parts that can break down
independently. Treatment usually consists of trying to repair the
broken part with drugs or surgery.
Holistic doctors take another approach. They believe that the parts
of the body are interconnected and must be treated as a whole. For
example, to treat a headache, these doctors might recommend massage
to relax the body, get the blood flowing, and relieve the tension that is
causing the headache.
Medical practices that do not depend on surgery and
pharmaceutical drugs are called alternative forms of medicine. Some of
these are more highly respected than others. For example, the Chinese
method of acupuncture, although 2,000 yearskgld, is considered an
effective remedy for chronic pain. On the otherliand, the practice of
reflexology, which uses foot massage to heal other parts of the body,
might feel good, but there is little proof that it works.
Some forms of alternative medicine are centuries old. African
herbalists have a long history of using tree bark, roots, grasses, and
flowers to make teas to treat disease.Native Americans have used plant
products to treat such illnesses as high blood pressure and coughs. At
first, modern scientists laughed at herbal healers and called their
methods "grandmother's remedies." Today, however, researchers are
testinggcertain elements in plants for the possible treatment of cancer
and AIDS.