Except an aspirin derivative comes from the bark of a willow not an oak, and its not aspirin, its salicylic acid. We refined that into aspirin as we know it today. The compound is different.BRex21 said:
Alternative medicine...
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Well, that's pretty much the way it is. It's a blessing and a curse. It prevents widespread destruction because of individualized immunities, but it also prevents a single cure-all that works-for-all.Alexander Bradley said:
As most here, I'd agree that homeopathy is useless besides the placebo effect, which can be hellishly effective, However, actual medicine has the benefit of both the placebo effect AND actually doing something.
On the other hand, herbal medicine can indeed have an actual effect. Often with more side-effects, and less of an active effect than actual medicine, but it still works somewhat.
And as of yet, I have at little experience with Chinese medicine.
On the other hand, herbal medicine can indeed have an actual effect. Often with more side-effects, and less of an active effect than actual medicine, but it still works somewhat.
And as of yet, I have at little experience with Chinese medicine.
elcher said:
That doesn't mean the medicine really helped you. I don't know much about chronic bronchitis, but I kinda doubt alt medicine helped it, and you can't expect people to believe in it (to the point of getting angry when they doubt you) when that's all the proof you have. I might legitimately see an alien, but if I have no proof I better expect to not be believed.
That was good fun to watch. Simon Singh and Ben Goldacre are doing a sterling job of eliminating quackery and bad science in Britain and abroad.bahumat42 said:
Also, of course homeopathy is dangerous.
He died of an overdose.
In all honesty, though, I really don't like the concept of alternative medicine. I appreciate that there may well be genuine remedies in non-mainstream medicine, but for the most part it's simply a cynical con, targeted at people who sometimes are so desperate they'll try anything that comes with a promise and a smile (terminal cancer patients shelling out big money for supposed remedies spring to mind).
Even more frustrating are some of the more ardent supporters of alternative medicine, who, if you dare to suggest that their
As someone who has overdose purposely on homoeopathic pills to prove a point I'm going to say that it's a bunch of nonsense.
Medicine has scientific evidence to support it and "alternative" medicine has anecdotal at best.
A lot of people have quote his sexiness, Mr. Tim Minchin but I thought it would be best to share his best work as it's very appropriate.
<youtube=HhGuXCuDb1U>
Medicine has scientific evidence to support it and "alternative" medicine has anecdotal at best.
A lot of people have quote his sexiness, Mr. Tim Minchin but I thought it would be best to share his best work as it's very appropriate.
<youtube=HhGuXCuDb1U>
Herbal stuff does work, depending what it claims to do. Cure cancer? Almost certainly not. Fix a sore throat/cough/congestion/upset stomach/etc? Absolutely. Herbal cures absolutely do good for the body in many situations. The simplest example (and this is really hardly "herbal" but whatever) is hot brewed tea (loose leaf, not teabag) with honey helps alleviate a sore throat.
As for other "alternative medicine" like homeopathy or crystal healing? Absolute bullshit.
As for other "alternative medicine" like homeopathy or crystal healing? Absolute bullshit.
Alternative Medicine has either been proven not to work or has been proven to work and simply called "Medicine".
You seriously think pharmaceutical companies are going to let Alternative Medicine businesses have something that genuinely works all to themselves? Hell no, they'd snatch that up, research it, test it, develop it and make mega-bucks selling it to hospitals (I'm describing the US system, we have a different system here in the UK).
How would you react if i told you i took an alternative medicine made from tree bark to rid me of a headache, many would raise a brow, but all i've actually had is an aspirin.
If a doctor tells you to try alternative medicine, stand up and walk out of the Doctor's office, because he's one feather away from being a quack.
Everyone who is on the fence about Alternative Medicine, please watch Tim Minchin's "Storm" (someone has kindly posted it in this thread) and then feel free to slap anyone who acts like the girl called Storm in the video.
You seriously think pharmaceutical companies are going to let Alternative Medicine businesses have something that genuinely works all to themselves? Hell no, they'd snatch that up, research it, test it, develop it and make mega-bucks selling it to hospitals (I'm describing the US system, we have a different system here in the UK).
How would you react if i told you i took an alternative medicine made from tree bark to rid me of a headache, many would raise a brow, but all i've actually had is an aspirin.
If a doctor tells you to try alternative medicine, stand up and walk out of the Doctor's office, because he's one feather away from being a quack.
Everyone who is on the fence about Alternative Medicine, please watch Tim Minchin's "Storm" (someone has kindly posted it in this thread) and then feel free to slap anyone who acts like the girl called Storm in the video.
Quackery, alternative medicine is just a tool for entrepreneurs to get more money from sick people. If you're not into that whole research and science thing then I've got some great items for you to buy, they are from the Native American tribe who have been around since before the Egyptians, their cure all medicine can be yours now for a low price just pm me.SckizoBoy said:
It's "alternative" because it's an alternative to actual, proven medicine. It's all bollocks. Healing crystals and all this bollocks. Just like faith healing, people need to stop saying this shit will cure cancer and whatnot, your keeping people from proper doctors.
"Alternative medicine, by definition has either not been proven to work, or has been proven not to work. Do you know what they call alternative medicine that has been proven to work? medicine."
Tim Minchin is great.
Tim Minchin is great.
For some "alternative" herbal stuff, the active ingredients are just what are used in proper, tested medicine. For an example, I've seen people spruiking willow tree products as an alternative painkiller, better than the nasty big pharma crap. However, any person with a high school knowledge of chemistry would be able to tell you that it's just salicylic acid, which is essentially the same as aspirin, except that aspirin won't burn your throat when you take it.
But yeah, as many people have already said, alternative medicines that are proven to work are just called medicine, and are refined to a high level of quality.
But yeah, as many people have already said, alternative medicines that are proven to work are just called medicine, and are refined to a high level of quality.
I do not believe anything without a proven, positive effect on illness should be called medicine, regardless of what word you place in front of it. Alternative medicine is, for the most part, a scam through and through, with homeopathy leading the charge of course, selling water for hundreds of dollars per bottle. I especially dislike it because the Greens here in Sweden have managed to convince Parliament to give an "alternative healthcare clinic" huge funds from taxpayer money, and said they await clinical studies proving its efficacy. Not studies on its efficacy, studies proving its efficacy.
My main concern with it is that it is much the same as "prayer healing": People with real, serious illnesses go to these people instead of doctors, and so die from disease we can cure or at least treat. The reason "Western medicine" dominates the healthcare landscape isn't because of imperialism or anything, it's because it works.
My main concern with it is that it is much the same as "prayer healing": People with real, serious illnesses go to these people instead of doctors, and so die from disease we can cure or at least treat. The reason "Western medicine" dominates the healthcare landscape isn't because of imperialism or anything, it's because it works.
I saw this thread and I have decided to comment because this topic strikes quite close to home for me. At the moment my grandmother is suffering from pulmonary hypertension and is expected to die within a year or two if left untreated, she has recently gone to take some tests and she will be seeing the cardiologist in a month or two. My mother is a doctor and a strong believer in modern medicine whilst her sister, my aunt, is a practiser of alternative medicine, herbalism, and chinese medicine, she believes that it is my grandmothers current medicine which is combating her auto-immune response that is causing this illness, there is no scientific evidence for this ever to have happened and she is not only trying to stop my grandmother from seeing the doctor to who was going to put her on medication which would most likely save her life and let her live on for over a decade longer but is also bullying her and forcing her to come to herbalists who have put her on a suspiciously expensive set of herbs which I doubt can cure such complex conditions. My grandmother lives with my aunt in london and is being prevented by my aunt to talk to my mother or to even think of going to the cardiologist who in her eyes is just a legal drug dealer who poisons society and kills people. My grandmothers life is at stake because of this and we are finding it hard to do anything to help due to where we live and the situation, we are currently trying to get her to move in with us until we can make her better but things aren't looking good. She is an amazing woman and has done nothing but help her children and grandchildren, she has given up all her life savings she kept after fleeing iran during the revolution for us, and gave her house to my aunt who has now forcefully delegated her a single cramped room in the corner of the house whilst she fills the rest of it with her spoilt child's things and her cats. I accepted her belief in alternative medicine up until now, but there has to be a point where they should realise that it cannot actually save lives.
All a load of bollocks, if it works its just medicine.
Also, lol at all the weak anecdotal evidence in this thread. Someone on the first page credited traditional chinese medicine with curing his common cold, after two days of constantly taking the 'medicine'. Oh wow, it made a cold disappear after two days! I wonder what else could do that, oh I know: Doing jack shit, colds often go away after a couple of days. A classic example of confirmation bias if I ever saw one.
Also, lol at all the weak anecdotal evidence in this thread. Someone on the first page credited traditional chinese medicine with curing his common cold, after two days of constantly taking the 'medicine'. Oh wow, it made a cold disappear after two days! I wonder what else could do that, oh I know: Doing jack shit, colds often go away after a couple of days. A classic example of confirmation bias if I ever saw one.
A couple of things. The OP said that he recovered from a cold after a few days of herbal teas and such. Here's the thing. Most people should recover from a cold within a couple of days anyways. I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's a psychological phenomenon that is common throughout society.
On alternative medicines as a whole, I'll say this. Probably upwards of 90% of them are complete bull. They don't work and there are only two reasons they exist, because people of questionable morals can sell them to gullible people, and because said gullible people tell their gullible friends and they spread that way. 10% of those work because they contain chemical compounds which actually work. That being said, those compounds are what appears in 'modern' medicine, and modern medicine provides those compounds in a concentrated and well regulated and controlled form for maximum results, which is extremely important since there is no way to properly regulate the chemical input from herbs and teas without knowing the exact content and absorption rate found in what you're consuming. That's it. The majority of this stuff is, for the lack of a better expression, 'snake oil', and that which is not western medicine has already figured out how it works and has improved the delivery method.
On alternative medicines as a whole, I'll say this. Probably upwards of 90% of them are complete bull. They don't work and there are only two reasons they exist, because people of questionable morals can sell them to gullible people, and because said gullible people tell their gullible friends and they spread that way. 10% of those work because they contain chemical compounds which actually work. That being said, those compounds are what appears in 'modern' medicine, and modern medicine provides those compounds in a concentrated and well regulated and controlled form for maximum results, which is extremely important since there is no way to properly regulate the chemical input from herbs and teas without knowing the exact content and absorption rate found in what you're consuming. That's it. The majority of this stuff is, for the lack of a better expression, 'snake oil', and that which is not western medicine has already figured out how it works and has improved the delivery method.