rationalskepticism.org

orpheus wrote:

Dr. Nancy Malik wrote:

orpheus wrote:

Dr. Nancy Malik wrote:

TMB wrote:
OK lets take a case history and see how it works.

Patient presents with flu symptoms, fevers, body aches, upper respiratory symptoms, fairly common, viral plus secondary bacterial infection. Conventional medicine prescribes antibiotics which addresses the secondary bacterial infection, assumed primary viral put down to random virus. Symptoms re-appear two months later, cycle is repeated and continues for two years.

Insight from a homeopathic book leads to diagnosis from an allopathic allergist who identifies an extreme allergy to house dust mites. Steps are taken to remove dust from beds etc etc, and symptoms improve significantly, however good health is not totally restored. Increased vigilance around dust mite eradication gives limited results.

Skin issues arise, upper respiratory issues are mild but chronic, other apparently unrelated reactions occur, hives appear on exposure to cold water, known as idiopathic cold urticaria. Removal of dairy from diet improves things partly, however overall health starts to decline rapidly, weight loss is 1kg per month, skin itch and eczema becomes close to unbearable.

In desperation, diet is reduced to a few basic food types and symptoms begin to resolve rapidly. Further tests show that celiac disease is probably at the core of issues spanning from somewhere between 20-50 years in the patients life. Always underweight, with unexpected bouts of un-wellness as a child and marked changes in health depending upon city lived in. Finally diet changes reveal that issues with gluten are possibly at the centre of all issues, from allergy to dust mite, intolerances to numerous food types, weight loss, general weakness and malaise.

In this case treating a bacterial infection was certainly effective with antibiotics, but only in the short-term, and damaging in the long-term. Because allopathic doctors are trained to look through keyholes with both eyes at the same time instead of opening the door, meant that over a number of years that no one allopathic doctor was able to do more that diagnose and prescribe according to their narrow definition of health. In addition this was possible only when a tentative self diagnosis had already happened. The use of an iridologist at various stages during this process allowed the patient to get an idea of the status of each major body organ and system. This meant that herbs could be taken to assist with a stressed immune system, or pancreas, or liver as it struggled to deal with the collateral damage caused by gluten, and subsequent allergies and intolerances.

Alternative practitioners were also not in a position to diagnose the person entirely, however were able to assist and diagnose related issues and once a diagnosis was made for celiac, could place symptoms and remedies in the correct context. In addition to this continual use of herbs does not have the same damaging effect as the long-term use of antibiotics.

Conventional medicine was able to diagnose specific issues like the presence of allergy to dust mite, and the presence of the celiac gene, but only when the patient presented this as the probable cause. Only the treatment prescribed by alternative medicine had any chance of treating the whole patient as opposed to symptomatically.

If you haven’t already guessed, the above is a précis of my health through my life and I have consulted with dozens of doctors from allopathic, various specialist, herbalists, homeopaths, dual practitioners, acupuncture. The major issue with conventional medicine is the reliance upon pinpoint technology to diagnose, rather than a natural ability to heal and read people. Its rather like someone reading a book on leadership, when they really just do not have the natural ability to lead. Reading about techniques can certainly help if you have the right attributes, but if you do not, it just makes you a pill pusher.

This means that treating symptoms especially if acute might be appropriate, but not when you cannot see, or lose sight of the patient overall. Alternative medicine at least recognises that there is necessarily a causation stack underlying the symptoms, masking the symptoms and getting through the days appointments is not a long term fix for many cases. There are many people with chronic and undiagnosed health issues that can be easily corrected if the correct path is taken to diagnosis and treat these.

Does this make it any clearer?

Quoting Dr. SFA, Pakistan

"Accurate Diagnosis" is mandatory for "Cure" is still a misconception as per homeopathic view in concerned.

Finding the "accurate diagnosis" and thinking that it is somehow related with the "cure" is the most widely believed phenomena among conventional doctors and scientist and also the general public is made to believe this.

They always stress for "Proper Diagnosis" and hence believing that it would be followed up by "Proper Treatment" and think that this would somehow end up in "Proper Cure" of the disease.

The idea that a correct diagnose would ultimately lead to the cure of the disease is non-factual and millions of us represent it by carrying large diagnostic documents and results after results of pathological tests with us - shuttling between the specialists every day.

(bold mine)

But haven't you been arguing that the important thing is to get to the root cause of the disease instead of treating just they symptoms? Sounds like you believe proper diagnosis is important.

I think I need to give an example:

Let's say a patient is suffering from arthritis. The patient explored two choices.

Conventional medicine: Physician will prescribe a drug that has been shown to treat arthritis. Plus any anti-inflammatory drug/pain killer (let's say aspirin) and give it to the patient. May be blood test to know RA factor, if any, etc. This approach is to treat the disease.

Homeopathy Medicine: Homeopath physician deals the same with the following approach

a. Joints are red, hot swollen with throbbing pain is a possible Belladonna case.

b. Pain is worse from slightest movement. Better resting. Dry mouth - a possible Bryonia case.

c. Pain is worse at first motion, better afterward, stiff joints in moving - a possible Rhus Tox case. [/b]

Note:
1. For each a, b, c, there are many homeopathy medicines. I have shown one only, for the purpose of illustration
2. Symptoms have been limited to only three a, b,c. Otherwise there are many more to be considered during case taking


A physician will go further into mind (mind symptoms)and other physical symptoms (the above three are just to make you understand).

Disease is not symptoms. It is disease in terms of symptomsIn homeopathy the physician has to go into more specific nature of a problem - many layers deep into any complaint.

So a conventional doctor treats the underlying disease. A homeopathic doctor treats the symptoms. This is what you're saying.