The Pros And Cons Of Alternative Medicine

Mankind has always found a way to better and prolong our lives through science and medicine. With the growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that has occurred over the last decade, one could easily say that “unconventional,” or non-Westernized, approaches to healing must be a new phenomenon never before seen in American society or around the world. The reality is, however, that the current rise in fashionability for unorthodox treatments is merely the latest of three waves of mainstream popularity in the past century-and-a-half (the first was the mid-1800s, the second the early 1900s in the United States). Although it is true that the present environment differs in certain critical respects from previous times, there are still plenty of parallels in which historical patterns are mirrored across time by the interest in CAM today. Alternative medicine can be defined as “medicine not prescribed by a medical professional and used more so as therapeutic remedies.” The difference between CAM and western medicine is that

According to the label, VapoRub may be applied to an individual’s feet, back, chest, muscles and joints for pain relief, fevers, congestion, which then allows it to be a sleeping remedy after relieving said symptoms. Some people elect to steam the ointment and pour it into a bowl, and, while wearing a towel on their head, breathe in the steam. The ointment was first used as to be smeared on a person’s chest so when the body was heated, the heat vaporizes the menthol, thus releasing soothing medicated vapor for hours at a time. The product label and Vicks Company warn against consumers putting the ointment under their nostrils but some people still do, as those individuals find it relieves congestion with no adverse side effects. In order to test the effectiveness of VapoRub on with coughing symptoms, when compared to no treatment, a study was conducted by the American Academy of