ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES

Homeopaths believe that Homeopathy is a scientific method of treatment. The homeopathic method is very precise, and when criticised for basing their method on non-quantifiable and non-measurable symptoms, homeopaths reply that the precisely observed symptom is still the most accurate measure of disease and health. They also believe that modern medicine is not scientific in its most important aspect, the prescription of a remedy. Homeopathy's apparent weakness consists in its reliance on symptomatic data for evidence about the patient's health and the course of his disease. Its strength lies in the usually unambiguous indication of the remedy.A complete picture of the patient's symptoms will point to one remedy and one remedy only. Confronted by a given symptom pattern, a group of homeopaths will all prescribe the same remedy. Homeopathy is based around the principal that all illness is "general", representing the curative effort of the whole body and does not recognise the existence of local illness. Illness is always general and the patient can never suffer from more than one illness at a time, however many local manifestations this one can yield (Coulter H, 1980).

Next page .. TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM)

Alcohol Guidelines index

The above information is copyright of Dr Bruce Trathen MBBS MRCPsych (2006). ISBN 0-9545164-0-0. The author grants permission for these guidelines to be downloaded, copied and distributed freely, but does not grant permission for their sale.