Comparison Between Natural Herbal Remedies And Modern Medicine

By Peter Murphy


Herbal treatment has been used worldwide to treat several illnesses for so many years. However, the advancement in the medical field has seen a widespread adoption of modern medicine as the preferred treatment option. This has relegated plant extracts to the alternative treatment option. With that said, there are several benefits of using herbs to treat some kind of illnesses. Below are the main merits and demerits of using natural herbal remedies.

Among the advantages of such medicine, the most outstanding one is that some natural remedies are more effective in treating chronic conditions such as arthritis. They are suitable for treating long-standing illnesses that do not respond to mainstream drugs. For instance, some doctors recommend dietary changes such as reducing sugar consumption and including simple herbs into meals.

In general, patients using herbal remedies experience fewer side effects when compared to pharmaceutical medicine. So, this type of treatment might be suitable for anyone who needs to take drugs for a long period of time. Herbs also offer a long-lasting option. It might be slow healing but there is a lower chance of the illnesses resurfacing again.

Herbs are also less expensive compared to conventional medicine. Some of the serious illness can drain your pocket if you do not have sufficient health plan to cover for treatment. On the other hand, most of the natural drugs can be found in local stores, and some do not even require a prescription. The cost of marketing, research, and testing is lower than the overall cost of prescription medicines. Besides, you can grow some of the herbal plants at home. So, in the remotest part of the country, natural treatment may be the immediate treatment for most people.

While herbal treatment may have several benefits, there are also some few drawbacks associated with it. For some ailments, modern medicine will offer the most effective treatment. For instance, it would be difficult to use this type of remedy to cure a broken hand. Likewise, serious conditions such as heart attack may only require modern medical treatment as an intervention measure.

In addition to the above, natural treatment is typically slow healing. So, it requires that user have immense patience while on this type of treatment. This is not what most people are willing to do especially if the illness is accompanied by pain. On top of this, there is no proper prescription for treating various illnesses. Modern medicine can offer effective and fast treatment for health conditions that require immediate solution.

While pharmaceutical drugs tend to have more side effects than herbals, there is a lower risk of taking harmful substances. If you are harvesting herbs in the wild, there is a higher chance of making mistake in identifying the right plants. Moreover, there is also the risk of using the wrong part of the plant.

While the advantages of using herbal medicine overpower the demerits, use of herbals is not regulated, so there is no guarantee that what you bought is high-quality herbs. Some manufacturers manufacture herbal products with varying quality levels thus making it difficult to prescribe a proper dosage to a particular illness. So, it is always safe to seek advice from a qualified practitioner.




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