Nowadays, unorthodox form of medicine is becoming the order of the day, a patient that is sick would either self-medicate using the traditional herbs known to him/her or go to a nearby ‘chemist’ to purchase some drugs believed to cure the ailments. Some may be lucky, while others end up getting worse and they have no option but to consult a higher center to seek health succor. I strongly believe these unorthodox forms of care are most times deleterious to health and grossly not effective when applied in the treatment of an ailment.
To begin, It is true that the history of medicine has its roots in alternative medical practices. The traditional Chinese medicine was based on the use of herbs, acupuncture, massage and other forms of therapy which are still practiced till date, The ayurvedic medicine is still practiced in some parts of India. Medicine has transcended different era with the aim of rendering better health care to the individuals causing little or no harm.
unorthodox mode of care now has an insignificant effect on the disease targeted to be treated. The reason for this is not farfetched as there is little or no scientific evidence to support these activities which may be assumed to be a mere coincidence or just a placebo effect. For example, the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in the management of pain can't be fully explained till date, this mode of treatment might have an effect on the test subject, Most of the clinical control trials have shown little or no difference between the control group and the sham-acupuncture group. Thus, it can be clearly seen that the acupuncture practice lacks a plausible mechanism even though it has negligible therapeutic values in the management of pain.
The incidence of Maternal Mortality today is of global concern. About 830 women die daily from childbirth and pregnancy-related causes.source. Despite the availability of qualified health care personnel, In Nigeria for instance, women still go to churches to put to birth! some pregnant women still patronize traditional birth attendants who are either under-skilled or not even skilled in taking the deliveries, when complications like infection, bleeding arise due to crude birth methods, the patient can die and contribute to the rise in maternal mortality rate. It could be argued that death still occurs in hospitals, but these deaths have been reduced to the barest minimal with the current practices in medicine.
Furthermore, the danger associated with alternative forms of treatment is alarming. Majority of them are linked with several complications in the patients that use them. For instance, in an article, Burn Injuries Resulting from Hot Water Bottle Use: A Retrospective Review of Cases Presenting to a Regional Burns Unit in the United Kingdom, published in 2013, the use of hydrotherapy creates more pain rather than cure of their pains. It can, therefore, be said that unconventional medicines are plagued with unwanted side effects on the users.
In conclusion, the ineffectiveness of alternative forms of medicines is obvious and can't be disputable since there is no evidence to support their actions and the side effects laden with their use is common. I recommend they should be avoided completely if one aims to achieve cure of a disease and maintain health.
References.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_medicine
• https://www.hindawi.com/journals/psi/2013/736368/
• http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality
• https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/reference/acupuncture/