Traditional medicine is a term used for all different types of unscientific knowledge systems passed from generation to generation and used within various societies ever since the dawn of mankind.
It is also sometimes referred to as folk medicine, mainly due to the fact that it was gradually developed over generations.
The most common and still-used practices of traditional medicine include traditional African medicine, Ifa, Muti, acupuncture, traditional Korean medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, Islamic medicine, ancient Iranian medicine, Unani, Siddha medicine, Ayurveda and herbal medicine.
There are still certain regions of the world, especially in Africa and Asia, where large portions of the population still rely on traditional medicine practices for most of their primary health needs, rather than seeking out modern medicine for their medical needs. Traditional medicine is also used in modern Western civilizations, by people who also have access to modern medicine, but it may lead to health hazards — in cases when it is not used appropriately, or when a reliance on traditional medicine causes a person to refuse modern medical care.
Classical History of Traditional Medicine
The first herbal medicine dates back to the times of the ancient Sumerians, who were actually the first civilization which described medicinal uses for various sorts of plants. Ancient Egypt was another great civilization which relied a lot on herbal medicine for various purposes.
The cultivation and use of medicinal herbs were even mentioned in the Bible. The first recorded evidence of Ayurveda dates back to the first millennium B.C. The same goes for the oldest Chinese herbal books, which were augmented and improved throughout the ages. There were also noted Greek compilers of herbal knowledge and the most renowned ones include Galen, Dioscorides, Theophrastus, Aristotle and Hippocrates.
The most renowned medicinal writers from the times of the Ancient Roman civilization include Celsus and Pliny the Elder. Certain Latin manuscripts were translated into Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish and other languages later on in the forthcoming centuries, something that facilitated the spread of the knowledge the ancient Romans had. The Greek and Roman civilizations were a great influence on the Hellenic, Ayurvedic and Spanish traditional medicine systems. They were also the backbone of all knowledge that Muslim botanists and Islamic physicians had. American folk medicine was directly influenced by certain texts from Germany and Holland, brought along by early settlers, which were developed during the 16th century.
Modern vs. Traditional Medicine: What is the difference?
Nowadays, modern medicine has the answer when it comes to detecting and treating a large number of different types of medical conditions, especially diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and other sorts of infectious agents that ancient civilizations knew nothing about.
This was not always the case, as people used to die out of diseases which are now easily curable or even preventable. Diseases that used to be highly dangerous but can now be treated or prevented include whooping cough, diphtheria and smallpox (which was eradicated in modern times), among others.
Traditional medicine methods have been around much longer than modern medicine and they were an important part of healthcare for covilizations throughout recorded history, and most likely before.
The most important difference between modern and traditional medicine is the way they observe both human health and the diseases people can fall victim to.
Diseases are biological conditions which are characterized as abnormalities in the function or the structure of certain organs or entire organ systems. Illnesses are completely different because they also involve certain spiritual, psychological and social aspects of an affected person.
Modern medicine usually tends to focus on one aspect of a person at any one time, relying on scientific data, and that is why most traditional medicine practitioners believe that the art of healing has been lost over the course of the last 100 years.
This sort of dissatisfaction with modern medicine led to a significant increase in the number of people who started relying on traditional medicine in order to get treated for their medical problems. Many people rely on traditional medicine in spite of the fact that there is no scientific evidence that traditional methods of treatment may provide a satisfying outcome.
There are a large number of people who suffer from a lack of spiritual dimension in their lives. These people are unable to connect to some greater meaning and that is one of the main reasons why they often rely on traditional medicine practitioners who may take care of all different dimensions of their lives, claiming to treat the whole person and not just one symptom or body part. These people believe in the fact that one’s wellness and overall health do not rely solely on a successful elimination of some disease inside the human body.
Folk medicine: Knowledge Transmission and Creation
Most sorts of folk and traditional medicine are spread by means of word of mouth throughout communities, families and among individuals up to the point where they get collected and eventually recorded. A culture may contain certain elements of folk medicine which are simply diffused among individuals, so it requires some time until all the knowledge elements are gathered together and applied in specific medical situations.
The role of each traditional medicine practitioner is defined by three distinct factors. Those factors include the beliefs of the surrounding community, the success of the practitioner’s actions and his or her own beliefs. When a certain type of folk medicine gets rejected by a certain culture it may survive only through belief from temporary believers. Not all elements of a specific culture are successfully integrated into a system, and quite often it may contain many contradictions.
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