Holistic medicine complimentary to orthodox

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 262, 8 November 1988, Page 4 (Supplement)

Holistic medicine complimentary to orthodox

Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician who is called the father of medicine, said that nature is the curer of disease.

Throughout history, though, medicine has tended to concentrate on symptoms in isolation. The holistic principle in medicine is very different. 1 1 takes the patient as a whole, studying every aspect of the individual in order to discover and understand the particular nature of his or her disease. Holistic medicine encourages the use of or complementary medicine when appropriate, but gives emphasis to the approach to health and disease rather than any particular treatment. Holistic medicine recognises that we each have the ability to heal ourselves. It follows the principle that disease can often be the result of our lifestyle and diet, that

by actively taking care of our health we can not only prcvent disease but sometimes actually cure it and that health care should cmbrace the psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects a s well as the physical. Contemporary health care raises one or two concerns which has nothing to do with a cranky "fringe" image, much more a wish to reform the health care that exists today and to re-appraise the use of drugs. After taking standard mcdical steps in the form of examinations and tests many complementary treatments can bc sought. Nutritional medicine involves vitamin and mineral supplements as well as diet and

lifestyle counscling. Other areas of treatment available are acupuncture, hypnosis, manipulation, biofeedback, psychotherapy, family therapy, clinical ecology and homoeopathy. In homoeopathy (the word derives from the Greek "homoios" meaning similar and "pathos" meaning feeling or suffering), the remedies chosen to treat sick people are those that if given in large or poisonous quantities to healthy people, produce symptoms similar to those manifested by the disease. "Like treatcd by like" is the rule of practice. By getting to the root cause of disease in the individual, homoeopath - ie treatment can oflen supply a remedy cure. Homocopaths are not battling against a disease as such, but are

helping people with their reactions to strcss, whcthcr it be mcntal, emotional, physical or bactcrial. Unfortunately in the case of complementary medicine scientific proof is scarce because research has not been undertaken. Funds for complementary research simply cannot begin to match the millions of dollars available to orthodox medicine from drug firms with vestcd intercsts. A major concern among orthodox practitioners is that thcre is little or no professional control over people practising mcdical altcmatives. In general there are not exams, registers or facilitics for monitoring. Increasingly, however, doctor's are refcr-

many are participating in extra training to

ring paticnts to complementary sourccs and

give care holislically.

Waiouru

PHNS