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

With technological and medical developments, people now have more choices when they fall ill than before.

Although

this

trend can bring numerous advantages, there are unneglectable drawbacks that are harmful to public health, making the change in lifestyle less felicitous. On one hand, compared to conventional methods of finding a treatment, which can be slow in effect and costly, alternative medicines are sometimes way more effective and cheaper. To illustrate, an Italian friend of mine once had a cold and went to visit her doctor as usual.

Then

she was asked to take a blood sample for

further

examination;

however

, the result only came out half a year later.

Instead

of waiting for the official treatment, she took two painkiller tablets, and the problem was solved. In some other cases, the existence of an alternative cure appears to be more vital and even life-saving.

For instance

, many diabetes patients could not afford the exorbitant insulin therapy;

consequently

, they resorted to newly launched products to alleviate their syndromes. That said, the bright side of

this

transformation is that patients now have access to more affordable and somehow effective medications outside of hospitals.

On the other hand

, it is still way too early to fully acknowledge the actual effect of many existing medicines and treatments, as there are countless individuals whose diseases were either unchanged or exacerbated by using uncertified products. An example of

this

is the toothpaste incident in China: a seller claimed that their product could help completely eradicate many dental problems, sparking a purchasing rush among parents despite warnings and persuasions from doctors and experts. Unsurprisingly,

this

was a hoax planned by professional charlatans, yet similar frauds can be seen all over the world.

Additionally

, doctors only prescribe medications that have undergone strict supervision and testing by the government,

whereas

the majority of those online therapies do not meet the standard.

In other words

, taking pills or having anecdotal operations may not be as helpful as going to the doctor. In summary, even though other approaches, namely self-treatment and cheap medications, can indeed reduce cost and save time to some extent, misusing unreliable products might have profound and irreparable damage to the public’s well-being.

Thus

,

overall

,

this

development may cause serious problems in the long term.