During a recent interview, I was asked to give a one or two sentence
description of the difference between holistic medicine and conventional
medicine. At first, this seemed impossible. After a moment of thought, here is
what came to me. Holistic medicine attempts to restore wellness.
Conventional medicine attempts to manipulate anatomy and physiology to restore
an appearance of wellness.
With time, I have come to realize that this
definition truly encapsulates my philosophy of healing. Notice, there is no
mention of drugs, surgery, chiropractic, herbs, vitamins or homeopathic
remedies. It is not the procedure or substance that determines whether something
is holistic or not. It is the philosophy behind the method that counts. Any of
the so–called holistic
therapies can be used in a
conventional
way. Using acupuncture to relieve pain in an arthritic
joint without addressing the underlying cause, is a good example of this.
Conversely, many drugs have been made into homeopathic remedies where their true
healing properties can be tapped. I believe if each of us understands this
principle, we can make far better health care choices. When seeking a
practitioner, there are several things to keep in mind to help you understand
whether he or she is offering you true holistic care or conventional medicine
with unconventional methods.
1) Is the practitioner addressing the nutritional status of the patient? Poor
nutrition can produce symptoms that can be mistaken for disease symptoms. Samuel
Hahnemann, the Father of Homeopathy, himself said If someone complains of
one or more trifling symptoms that he has noticed only recently, the physician
should not consider this a full–fledged disease . A slight adjustment in the
diet and in the mode of living usually suffices .
A fresh whole foods
based diet appropriate for the species with moderate supplementation to restore
deficient nutrients is my idea of a proper diet. Using large doses of vitamins
or other isolated nutrients to alter the body's function (mega doses of vitamin
c to prevent allergy symptoms, for example), is only an attempt to restore
an appearance of wellness
2) Is the practitioner considering the patient's emotional state? Since
emotional imbalances often underlie or accompany physical symptoms, it is
imperative that this be investigated for holistic treatment.
3) Is the practitioner discussing external factors such as environmental
toxins? In today's chemically polluted world, this is a major obstacle to health
and healing.
4) Does the practitioner ask about the patient's health history? In a chronic
disease process, the key to cure often lies in the pattern of the disease.
5) Is the treatment being offered aimed at controlling symptoms or truly
curing the problem? This is the big tip–off. With a chronic health problem, this
determination is usually easy to make. Conventional medical practitioners will
usually tell you that they are just controlling the symptoms. If any
practitioner is recommending a therapy that needs to be continued without any
real hope of being able to stop, then they are just palliating or suppressing
symptoms and that is merely restoring an appearance of wellness
. The
long term result of such treatment is a worsening of the individual's general
health and usually the appearance of more serious symptoms. Always ask if the
treatment is symptomatic or potentially curative. In the case of an incurable
health condition, palliating symptoms is all one can do and it should be done in
the safest way possible. The difficulty is determining which patients are
incurable. Conventional medicine usually makes this decision based on how they
label the problem. One example is that according to conventional medicine
diabetes
is incurable. From a holistic perspective, each individual
is different, therefore the decision as to who is incurable or not must be based
on the individual NOT the diagnosis. In an acute problem, such as an abscessed
bite wound, it is more difficult to determine whether the treatment is
symptomatic or not. Both antibiotics and homeopathy, for example, can result in
a rapid disappearance of the abscess. The question to ask is Can the
treatment make the problem less likely to occur in the future?
With
antibiotics, the answer is no
. With proper homeopathic care the
individual's temperament and resistance improve and the answer is
yes
. Thus, the homeopath is attempting to restore
wellness
.
6) Is the practitioner a devout supporter of vaccination? Vaccines are one of
the leading causes of health problems and can severely damage the immune system.
My reason for writing this article is clear. In today's marketplace,
holistic
and alternative medicine
are the latest
buzzwords. There are an increasing number of practitioners using them in their
advertising. A perusal of the local yellow pages will verify this trend. The
consumer must beware that many of these practitioners do not understand the
difference between holistic and conventional approaches as I have discussed.
They see themselves as having one more service to offer and thereby bring in
more business. They may prefer
to use something natural
but are usually quick to reach for the cortisone or antibiotics when faced with
a significant health problem. Most have only a few hours of training and are not
committed to holistic healing in any profound way. When visiting anyone who
purports to be holistic, ask about their training and experience. Evaluate the
visit in terms of the points discussed in this article. You will then be able to
determine whether he or she views holistic health care as a commitment or a
commodity.
- Russell Swift, DVM, Classical Homeopath