Alternative Approaches to Modern Medicine - Kidney Disease Unfiltered

What is your personal health philosophy? Have you ever explored alternative approaches to modern medicine? You may not know it, but there are different approaches to health and healing other than the modern medicine ideology we are used to here in the United States. Modern Medicine (also called Allopathic Medicine) is characterized by the use of drugs and surgeries to treat symptoms. Other names for modern medicine are biomedicine, conventional medicine, mainstream medicine, orthodox medicine, and Western medicine. Modern medicine generally follow these four basic principles:

Every illness has only one origin (Doctrine of Basic Etiology – The cause of a disease or abnormal condition).
The body is a material organism with clockwork processes like a machine.
The opposite cures. (Ex. If blood pressure is too high make it lower)
Only approaches proven to be successful by rigorous clinical research are sufficient means to a treatment.

As a kidney patient it might be beneficial to consider other ideologies in regards to your health and overall wellbeing. Let’s take a look at two alternative approaches to modern medicine.

Holistic Medicine

Holistic medicine is a holistic approach to healthcare that considers the entire person. Its aim is to strengthen physical, mental, and spiritual health. It can also be called Naturopathic medicine. Holistic medicine is based on several core principles:

Physical, physiological, behavioral, moral, and social wellbeing are all aspects of healthy person.
Prevention comes first, then treatment second.
Disease is caused by a problem with the whole body, rather than a single event or body part.
The goal of treatment is to fix the underlying cause of disease, instead of just improving the symptoms.
Treatment involves a wide range of options, including education, self-care, Complementary and alternative medicine, and traditional medicine.

Types of Holistic Doctors

Integrative Physician
Ayurvedic Doctor
Naturopathic Doctor
Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner

Because holistic medicine aims to treat the whole person it will be important to look for a practitioner who aligns with your personal religious/spiritual belief system.

Homeopathic Medicine

Homeopathy is a healing system focused on the premise that the human body has the power to heal itself. Small quantities of natural substances, such as plants and minerals, are utilized by those who perform it. They claim that these help to speed up the healing process. Homeopathic Medicine follows three main principles:

Let like cure like (Ex. Treating oily skin with oil).
Use the Minimum Dose (Natural substances should be diluted and not used at full strength).
Use a Single Remedy (To be sure of the effect only use one remedy at a time).

The modern medicine have made some great discoveries. Millions of lives have been saved, and the research and studies have come a long way since it’s inception. However, we must not forget about the alternative approaches to modern medicine that have been long used to heal people for years. These are ideas we should not lose and replace with modern medicine, but should be incorporated with modern medicine to develop better treatments and therapies for disease. In my opinion, this will create better health outcomes and increase the quality of life for kidney patients.

Please be sure to check out the Resources page for links to alternative health resources for kidney patients.