Nowadays a growing number of people with health problems are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctors. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

There is a trend these days to seek advice from non-medical persons to cure the illness rather than following the doctor's prescription.

This

is not a good development as it can cause more harm than good. There are many reasons people rely more on alternative medicines.First of all, the cost of medication is too high and so is the consultation fee of the physicians, making it difficult for the patients to bear the expenses.

For example

, the price of an injection of chemotherapy is more than one lac rupees in our country

whereas

the average monthly income of a common man is less than fifty thousand rupees.So, it is not possible for him to afford

such

a costly regimen and he resorts to other ways of healing.

Secondly

, there are many side effects of allopathic drugs.There is a long list of adverse effects written on the pamphlets accompanying the leaflets of drugs.Many individuals experiencing the intolerable consequences stop taking the pills at all.

Thirdly

, most health professionals have a very busy schedule.

This

makes it hard for the sick persons to get an appointment.

In addition

, very few specialists give ample time for counselling of the diseased persons which causes an increased rate of non-compliance.All these factors support the idea of looking towards hakims for non-allopathic ways of cure.

Although

it appears fascinating, the non-medical remedies have their own drawbacks.

Firstly

, the quacks provide a remedy which is not scientifically proven.There are no randomized trials on these remedies to prove their use.

Also

, remedies other than pharmaceuticals may cause the development of untoward problems.

For instance

, my uncle had been using various medications by a hakim to control blood pressure.He later developed blood cancer which was attributed to the gold content in those chemicals.

Secondly

,the mechanism of action of many over-the-counter items is not known so , if there is an overdose of any of the content, there is no antidote available to nullify its effects.

Thirdly

, there is no emergency cure available with

such

fake healers.They usually refer them back to doctors for urgent medical conditions.

For instance

, a person having a heart attack or trauma rushes to the hospital's emergency for relief. As there are no proper wards for sick people in homoeopathic care, those requiring indoor management have to come to a doctor's clinic for admission. To summarize, the demerits of alternative medicines are more than their benefits.

However

, governments should pay attention to the rising cost of medical treatment and make health reforms for the timely management of ill people in the best possible ways.