Alternative Medicine Essay Research Paper There is — страница 2

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allergy sufferers. One tablet is supposed to temporarily relieve nasal and sinus congestion, sneezing, water-itchy eyes, and runny nose. Sudafed may do what it promises, but one tablet gives more than expected. The side effects listed on the back of the box are excitability, drowsiness, dizziness, and sleeplessness. In addition to side effects, this product is not recommended for people with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, asthma, glaucoma, or difficulty in urination due to enlargement of the prostate gland. This eliminates millions of people. The cost of homeopathy is one more obvious reason for utilizing it. Since the 1950 s the pharmaceutical industry has been the most profitable industry in this country. In 1959, the Senate subcommittee on

Antitrust and Monopoly conducted a yearlong investigation on the drug industry. They discovered that the public was being ripped off by more than 250 million dollars a year. In 1980, the average prescription cost $6,025. In 1992, the cost of the same prescription was $22.50 (Murray 21). Noffsinger 4 One way to reduce these astronomical costs is to prevent illness. Alternative medicines work to prevent the illness before it occurs by building up the defense system and aiding the body s natural responses. Preventing illness keeps people from paying for the cost of care, operations, and the use of facilities. A quote printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association, states that one-fourth of hospital stays, one fourth of procedures, and two fifths of medicine could be done

with out (Heimlich 2). Why spend money unnecessarily? Of course there are some arguments against Homeopathy. For instance homeopathic remedies are not based on a science, but on the proving. Butler explains that remedies have been tested by administering them to healthy people who recorded their physical, mental, and emotional reactions in the days following. He goes on to say that the FDA has permitted homeopathic products to be marketed even though they have not been demonstrated to work (132). Contrary to his statement, the British Medical Journal reported that: 13/19 trials showed successful treatment of respiratory infection. 5/7 trials showed successful treatment of hay fever. 18/20 trials showed a benefit in addressing pain or trauma. The individuals who conducted these

trials were not homeopaths but medical school professors (Ullman, Beginner s 8). If a drug has undergone scientific testing, there is no guarantee that the drug will do as promised. Thomas Moore, an investigative reporter for the Knight Ridder Chain Committee on Intelligence, has this to say about the testing and research of drugs: The pharmaceutical industry spends more to persuade doctors to prescribe Noffsinger 5 its drugs than it does on research. Over just a few years, an estimated 50,000 people died from taking drugs intended to prevent cardiac arrest (13). Moore s book tells the story of a national tragedy involving a class of conventional drugs still on the market. He discovers that the same medical system that brings us life saving treatments can also bring us

catastrophes beyond imaging. Provings have already demonstrated homeopathic effects, none of which were fatal. The last opposing argument made by the medical profession is the fact that these remedies are diluted almost to the point of nonexistence. For instance, one drop of belladonna (an extract from a highly poisonous plant) is dissolved in 99 drops of alcohol/water solution. Then 99 drops of liquid further dilute one drop of the new solution and so on 30 times. At such high dilution one dose of medication only contains a single molecule of the original substance (Landau 202). One theory of how this dilution could possibly have an effect is that somehow the alcohol/water solution retains a memory of the original substance. This is accounted for during the vigorous shaking

between each dilution. Researchers suggest that the water molecules lien up according to the structure of the active molecules. A visual example of this is the iron fillings that fall into place when shaken and then places near a magnet (204). Ullman gives examples of organisms that have the capability of detection minute amounts of a substance from miles away. Take sharks for example, they can sense exceedingly small amounts of blood in the water from great distances . Male insects can detect minute amounts of sex hormones and travel long distances to find a mate . She goes on to say, Just because we Noffsinger 6 can t find it doesn t mean the medication doesn t exist. It simply means our tests are not yet sensitive enough (Abrams 111). The small number of physicians who