In contemporary society, an increasing number of individuals tend to choose not orthodox medicine, but rather alternative therapies to address their health issues. Despite the fact that sometimes complementary medicine can partly help a person maintain one’s well-being, I hold the opinion that the replacing qualified doctors with unproved practises is rather a negative tendency.
On the one hand, people choose alternative medicine for several practical reasons. Firstly, unconventional and herbal remedies are frequently far less expensive than pharmaceutical prescriptions, which makes such products more affordable to broader range of people. In addition, complementary medicine often suggests a holistic approach to one’s health, which includes overall well-being, regular exercise, healthy nutrition, stress management and other components of health rather then targeting physical symptoms. For minor discomfort such habits can improve the general state.
On the other hand, such an approach has serious disadvantages. For example, herbal remedies, acupuncture, or homeopathy are rarely clinically proven, which means that medication may or may not work. In contrast, an evidence-based approach provides the patient with a doctor’s supervision, which can be essential in critical situations. For instance, if a person has cancer, an immediate visit to a qualified doctor can save their life through surgery or targeted therapy, while alternative treatments will fail to stop the progression of the disease.
To sum up, complementary medicine can serve as an additional treatment if a person feels such a need, whilst the substitution of official approaches creates a great risk; therefore, this trend is rather negative.