When you are in pain, they are always there for you - mainstream medicine and complementary medicine walking hand in hand

Medicine has become an inalienable part of our lives. When we feel unwell we hastily call the ambulance, go to the drugstore to get the medications we need and if something is radically wrong with us get a sick leave to be able to stay at home and get better. Have you ever thought that things were not always like that? Here are some stunning facts about the development and major kinds of modern medicine.

The word medicine is derived from the Latin “ars medicina”, meaning “the art of healing”. Medicine these days is a completely scienctific activity, but you should also remember that it is a kind of art - the art of healing humans. The major functions of contemporary medicine is maintaining and restoring health by means of prevention and treatment of various diseases. Official medicine sprang up as many healing arts and techniques based on traditional story-told non-scientific practices.

By the way, complementary medicine today has a definite power, too. Why, you might ask? You see, sometimes conventional medicine is unable to cure a long list of terrible health disorders and injuries such as cancers, diabetes, AIDS, autoimmune diseases, spinal injuries etc. The point is official medicine is perfect at finding out symptoms characteristic for certain diseases and injuries and at prescribing meds and medical handling able to abate the patient’s pain and tribulation. But often it is unable of finding the reason why the disease breaks out. On the contrary, complementary medicine still remembers that we possess intellect, body and soul. Anger and hate that you keep inside you as well as negative emotions you have every day of your life hurt your soul, stuff up your head and ruin your body.

Unlike unsystematic approaches of healers, modern medicine is equipped with health science, biomedical research and medical technology - it can diagnose and handle injuries and diseases of all kinds. traditionally it applies medication, surgery and some other forms of therapy. The majority of medical men try to remember how important it is for the ill patient to feel care and compassion, to have a personal contact with the practitioner, that is why they follow the strict set of rules known as bedside manner.

Many millennia ago our ancestores noticed that certain plants, animal parts and minerals help curing injuries and wounds and overcome different health problems. It was not the knowledge for everyone - priests, shamans, healers and medicine men treated them as purely magical substances.
From ancient records we learn that medicine is a very old activity. Texts about ancient Egyptian medicine, Babylonian medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, classical Chinese madicine, ancient Greek and Roman medicine prove that even millennia ago some people tried to help others in getting well! Imhotep is the first name of the medical man preserved in the history of medicine. He was an Egyptian and lived about 3rd millennium BC! The fascinating fact is that ancient texts and encryptions tell us that so long ago there were dedicated medicinal treatment facilities for patients (like hospitals these days) and numerous surgical operations including aesthetic surgery!

You surely know that ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates is believed to be “the father of medicine” for building rational approach to medicine. Hippocrates created the famous Hippocratic Oath for medical people. Believe it or not, it is still in use today, as relevant and wise as ever before! What is more, Hippocrates managed to classify health issues as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic. In addition to it, modern medical men use many special words proposed by Hippocrates - relapse, resolution, paroxysm, peak, exacerbation, crisis, convalescence are only a few of them!

Surprisingly, the Western world did not develop bright ideas of ancient doctors after the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Eastern world, on the contrary, kept and supported the Greek and Roman ways in medicine. A notable Islamic medical man who made a great contribution to medicine, was Avicenna. He wrote the famous Cannon of Medicine.

Medical science returned to Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries when awful bubonic plague ravaged Europe killing up to 30-60% of its population. This awful pandemic made doctors forget about the ‘traditional authority’ approach to science and medicine and seek alternative ways out. Practitioners like Ibn al-Nafis and Vesalius did a great job supporting or criticizing numerous approaches from the past.

But the new era of medicine began in the 18th century when Edward Jenner discovered the smallpox vaccine. Since then biomedical investigation has become one of the major proofs in medicine, while ancient traditions became a history. Around 1880 Robert Koch discovered the transmission of illnesses by bacteria and soon in 1908 Paul Ehrlich discovered the first antibiotics.

The 20th century was a real stream of medical events and investigations. It is hard to enumerate all the prominent doctors whose investigations and experiments resulted in new treatments and the use of revolutionary drugs!

Present-day pharmacology inherited the ancient knowledge of herbalism and incorporated many ideas of the chemistry, but nevertheless, a long list of medications are still derived from plants. For instance atropine used in ophthalmology and gastroenterology, ephedrine effective for persons with asthma, warfarin used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots, aspirin we take for a number of reasons, digoxin irreplaceable in cardiology and a number of other essential people are received from plants. But the technology applied today is brand new! A number of pills reduced their side-effects due to innovative ways of production and what is more, new medications are designed for absolute compatibility with a human organism!

Today you don’t even have to stand in line in the waiting room to get your prescription. You can easily find a trusted online drugstore without prescription and enjoy immaculate support team and swift service! All you have to do is to orders high-quality cheapest drugs available. You can chose to take brand drugs or generic medicines. They share the same formula and are equally effective, but the price of any generic medication is much more pleasant.

Up-to-date medicine can be named an evidence-based science, and unlike it was in ancient healing techniques its major purpose is exchanging information and clinical experience. The fact ramains that the ‘best practice’ approaches tend to suppress new ideas of treatment, that is why there numerous systematic medical reviews available.

Present-day medicine is first of all the activity where doctors personally assess patients to examine, diagnose and handle them. So, as you see the famous TV diagnostic genius Gregory House is not a mainstream practitioner at all! When you call a MD the standard procedure is like that:
- it starts with studying the patient’s medical history; then goes a detailed medical interview and a thorough physical examination. If necessary the examination is followed by medical tests - blood test, urine test, smear, biopsy etc. Please, remember, it is very important for the doctor to know every truthful sign and symptom - otherwise right diagnosing is impossible! Forget about being shy or squeamish when you visit your MD - tell him or her everything that you find odd and suspicious - that might be helpful. The medical appointment is documented in the special medical record and your personal medical history, which is a legal document.

The process of medical handling depends on the case. You get a sick leave if the case is simple and take the pills prescribed by your medical man. Serious cases may take weeks and several specialists to manage and the patient is likely to be hospitalized.

Medicine today is a part of health care system of every powerful country. It is essential to ensure that every individual has access to medical care irrespective of the patient’s ability to pay for the service. That is why it is so important to support state-owned and charitable hospitals and clinics.

The medical personnel consist not only of docs. Well-trained nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians help their individuals go the whole way through his or her case and recover as soon as possible. We cannot live without the service of radiographers, dietitians, surgeons, dentists, anaesthetists etc as well. The quality of national health service (NHS) depends exceptionally on the knowledge and practical skills of all these people. That is exactly why medical specialty in universities should meet the highest standards of education imaginable! What is more, in all Western European countries, USA and other countries of the world a medical doctor must be licensed or registered before he or she can start medical practice. If the doctor fails to use all his or her possibilities to help the patient, if he or she is negligent or deliberately harmful, this medical man can be charged of medical malpractice. You can find many cases when practitioners were subjects to professional, civil or criminal sanctions. Fortunately, cases like that are seldom and as a rule people decide to be doctors because it is their calling! Who else but a willing creature agrees to deal with sick and unbearable patients for all the professional life!

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