Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine is the term given to practices that differ from the conventional and more mainstream medical practices and are used in place of them.

Alternative medicine is a fairly broad umbrella term which covers many different methods of treatment ie Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ayurvedic etc.

TCM is an example of alternative medicine. TCM, short for Traditional Chinese Medicine, is a broad term for therapies which include massage, diet therapy, herbalism and acupuncture.

TCM is based on the philosophy that having good health revolves around the correct flow of "chi" which is the energy of the body. The way this "chi" works is that it flows through our bodies in channels, known as "meridians". These meridians in turn contain hundreds of points which link the differents organs and functions of the body together.

We can help increase the amount of chi in our bodies by looking after ourselves, but eating healthily and sensibly, and by doing exercise.

In the main, traditional chinese medicine seems to be used a lot for skin complaints ie for acne and eczema oriented conditions. However, TCM is not limited just to clearing up skin problems and is intended for resolving disease and disorders of all varieties.

As mentioned previously, the treatments can vary. A massage treatment is completely different from and acupuncture session. In many cases, the practitioner will prescribed chinese herbs to be taken orally, although some can be made into solutions applied externally as well. Chinese herbs tend to have a very pungent and off putting odor - so be warned!

Another thing to be wary of, with regard to chinese medicinal treatments, it to ensure your practitioner is properly qualified and not just a bogus doctor in disguise.

TCm is a very powerful medicinal system with quite an ancient lineage and as such it needs to be treated with utmost respect. Cases have arisen where fraudsters have been posing as bogus doctors. There have also been cases where bona fide doctors, especially here in the West, have been prescribing chinese herbal treatments without being properly qualified to do so, and without knowing the full power of the medicine they are prescribing.

The possibility that chinese herbal medicine could be used as an effective treatment, is now starting to gain favour with Western docters as well. Many of these Western doctors have witnessed for themselves how amazingly well this medicine appears to work and now work together with chinese doctors in order to better understand the power of these herbs.

In the United States, Chinese herbal medicine is already being prescribed to AIDS and HIV sufferers. In fact, research papers published in China have concluded that the use of chinese herbs in the treatment of HIV and AIDS has had a positive effect because it seems to have reduced the virus symptoms and increased the survival times.

Elsewhere, chinese herbs are being used as a treatment for malaria and some are investigating the possibility of using both chinese herbs and acupuncture to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy for cancer patients. It all looks rather promising.