Changes In Change In Treatments : A Historical Perspective

Most American citizens would agree that modern medicine has drastically changed American Society. The progression of medicine has impacted American lives in multiple ways. It has changed how the United States military uses medicine, how American scientists research medicine, and how everyday American citizens use medicine. Just 100 years ago, the people of the time period would not have been able to comprehend the medical advances that today’s society experiences, and what postmodern societies will continue to experience. Over time, the progression of medicine affected American soldiers during times of war, changed how diseases were discovered and treated, and impacted the way 21st century Americans view medicine and medical professionals.

The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine by Ted J. Kaptchuk is a non-fiction book describing the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine and how it compares to Western medicine. This book does not focus on a specific time period or regions where Chinese medicine is practiced. Rather, it centers on the logic behind Chinese medicine. After studying Chinese medicine in Macao, Ted Kaptchuk returned to America and realized that he could not abandon what he learned just because it was different from Western medicine. Chinese medicine is over two thousand years old and textbooks have dated back to the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-220 C.E). These texts will continue to adapt, just as traditions adapt over time. Chinese medicine is still

According to the dictionary, the word health is “the state of being free from illness.” At a first glance, this defination seems to be very direct and simple, however the meaning of the word ‘health’ nowadays is much more complex. The above definition pretty much sums up our view of health in the first half of the 20th century.

The bio-medical model of ill health has been at the forefront of western medicine since the end of the eighteenth century and grew stronger with the progress in modern science. This model underpinned the medical training of doctors. Traditionally medicine had relied on folk remedies passed down from generations and ill health was surrounded in superstition and religious lore with sin and evil spirits as the culprit and root of ill health. The emergence of scientific thinking questioned the traditional religious view of the world and is linked to the progress in medical practice and the rise of the biomedical model. Social and historical events and circumstances were an important factor in its development as explanations about disease

The findings of this survey showed that 73.6% agreed with the use of traditional medicines for health maintenance, 79.2% agreed for benign illness, such as colds or sprained ankles, and 90.3% agreed for palliative care (Zubek, 1994, p. 1926). Where they disagreed the most was with the use of traditional healing in the intensive care units, only 16.9% agreed with the use of this treatment for serious illness, such as cardiac or respiratory compromise, whether in the hospital (21.2% agreed) or as outpatients (26.4% agreed). Nearly half (48.6%) agreed with using traditional medicines for chronic illnesses, such as non-insulin dependent diabetes or Parkinson's disease (Zubek, 1994, p. 1926). One instance where physicians were unwilling to allow their patients to use Native medicine was while the patient is in the hospital, because the physician could be held legally responsible for any treatment administered while admitted under their care. There is also the problem of differentiating between legitimate Native healing practitioners and those who would take advantage of anyone not aware of the proper rituals and techniques that need to be performed (Zubek, 1994, p. 1929). This could be overcome by having a formalized licensing organization such as is used by Western practitioners (i.e. American Society of Clinical Pathology [ASCP]). That poses another problem though, as to whether traditionalists would be willing to have such an organization.

The definition of health is fluid, ever changing and carries different meanings across individuals, societies and cultures. Although it is difficult

Research by Sheingold and Hahn (2014) supports that healthcare began as a purely reactionary, medicinal practice, in which people learned the medicinal properties of plants through trial and error, and then passed on that knowledge to others. It later became a subject of purposeful study by many different cultures, including the Persian, Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Indian, and Chinese cultures.

Nowadays, medicine is tested and approved before it hits the market. Back in the days a person would pass treatments through word of mouth and could seriously injure or make the disease worse. People in historical times would believe that illnesses involved certain spiritual, psychological and social aspects of a person. This was back in the time where there was no scientific evidence that traditional medicine could aid an affected person. Traditional medicine has been around much longer than modern medicine and they were an important part of recorded history. People back in the old days had to dispel and challenge folklore with scientific evidence. Doctors back in the old days had to not only find a way to dispel folklore, but also get ordinary people to listen to them and to help them believe in their practices. Without all of these people, medicine would be nowhere near as it is

As well as advanced surgery and inoculations, the Indians of the Gupta Empire possessed medical guides much like those of today, such as the Bower Manuscript and the Hatyayurveda. These manuals contained information on things such as medicinal plants, prescriptions, diseases and children's medicines. In total, "...these works classified more than 1,000 diseases and described [the properties of] more than 500 medicinal plants," such as garlic, a lotion that promoted eyesight, oils from trees, etc. There was even information on animal disease treatment! For these reasons, the Indians from the Gupta period were extremely advanced in their knowledge of medicine and treatment of ailments.

The Native American woman interviewed has a strong holistic approach when viewing medicine compared to Western civilization. Before seeking any medical attention she states she will first try teas, herbs and other supplements in soothing common ailments. She often bakes

Over the last 100 years, the United States of America have experienced loss of human lives due to various causes. These deaths can be attributed to deficiencies in the medicines for curing the corresponding diseases. There have being changes over time as the main cause for a particular period of time does not persist forever. The most dangerous diseases during the year 1900 are not still dangerous today. This is because of the improvements that have

“Don’t treat the disease, treat the patient” [9]. The concept of health has seemed to become complex in definition over the centuries as science improves. “Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.”-World Health Definition of Health (1948) [9]

Modern medicine is the result of many influences outside of the scholarly world. One has to account for social and economic factors, along with the scientific world's epistemological view. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, the world of medical theory was dominated by rationalistic science, meaning practices were only accepted if they were explainable by established theories and doctrines. Observational medicine would not come back into the Western world until empiricism gained popularity during the Enlightenment. In fact, several significant discoveries of this era were shunned, due to the inability to explain them with rationalist theories adhered to by the general population. However, society as a whole would adopt scholarly, empirical medicine after a few decades of severe shortcomings on the part of archaic, rationalistic medicine. During the colonization of the New World, there was a clear shortage of university-educated doctors to counteract the rising number of those succumbing to new diseases. Formally educated doctors would take on apprentices, who then themselves take on apprentices, establishing a few generations worth of insufficient physicians roaming about. After patients began to heavily avoid doctors due to their harmful practices, they began looking into alternate forms of treatment. Slave medicine, in particular, became a popular form of alternative medicine due to its effectiveness and empirical basis. Owners

The medical profession have claimed responsibility for the eradication of the infectious diseases that plagued the population in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Vaccination, chemical cures and advancements in medical

Homeopathy was developed during the Industrial Revolution, a period encompassing vast technological, economic and social changes. Many people belonging to the lower class were forced to live in poor living conditions and there developed an increased need for hospital, doctors and medication.