With it’s colorful past the History of Alternative Medicine is still an open book
History of Alternative Medicine can be traced back some 5,000 years where they were mentioned in the ancient scriptures of Egypt, China and India and almost any ancient country in the world. It also dates back some 3,000 years in the western part of the world.
It is a multi-faceted arena. Now we would learn where it came from and it’s importance in medicine. We began applying our knowledge and became believers.
I had met an energy healer who practiced many types of alternative medicine and invited him into the hospital to meet with our son. He was from China and was very interested in explaining where the history of alternative medicine originated. He said that alternative medicine was practiced for centuries and its concept was based on Taoist philosophy. It had spread to Japan and Korea and is known as the Oriental branch of alternative medicine. He had practiced therapies known as
The culture and traditions of Asian countries is where alternative medicines prevailed for over 5000 years. In India, the alternative medicines were known Ayurveda. Ayurveda has been practiced for thousands and thousands of years and is still in practice. The aim of Ayurveda medicine is balancing the harmony of mind, soul and body which is in line with the Taoist philosophy.
There are historical evidences that surgeries were also performed as part of Ayurvedic treatment in olden days. Ayurveda prescribes alternative medicines for curing common cold,
paralysis and certain mental diseases.
A review of past medical discoveries reveals how excruciating slowly conventional medicine adopts alternative methods. A classic example of this occurred when a young doctor discovered that contagious disease was being transmitted to hospital patients because medical personnel failed to was their hands.
Our son was transferred from ICU to sub-acute with five staph infections- an infection in almost every opening in his body. Staph infections are rampant in almost every hospital and long term facility in the world.
In the 19th century, thousands of women died every year from childbed fever. The reason for this epidemic was that doctors were performing autopsies and then conducting vaginal exams with their hands covered with decomposing necrotic tissue. The same young doctor who discovered this medical discovery observed that women who used midwives instead of doctors had low rates of childbed fever. When this young doctor published his findings about the importance of hand washing, the medical community reacted with hostility. The prevailing belief at the time was that childbed fever is caused by bad air.
The history of alternative medicine is a long and fascinating one. Many different cultures contributed their traditions to this history whose beliefs we still practice today.
The long and colorful history of alternative medicine is still quite the open book, and all signs point to it remaining this way for some time to come.