The Rise of Alternative Medicine
IELTS Writing Task 2
Response: In the 21st century, with the advent of social media and TV programs, people are more educated than they were in the last decades, particularly in the field of healthcare. This knowledge leads them to adopt self-healing practices or rely on traditional methods rather than visiting their family doctor or general practitioner. This trend has both advantages and disadvantages. I believe that in some cases it may be useful, or vice versa, it may be detrimental to individual's health in case of indiscriminate use of drugs.
On one hand, regarding advantages, it is often said by scientists that chemical drugs, regardless of dosage, are beyond the body needs. This means that our natural body environment is capable of healing itself after having enough time to rest and consuming nutritious meals. It is convincing when it comes to common diseases, such as flu and cold. In this case, after experiencing symptoms, including running nose, headache, fever, and things on those lines, traditional remedies are convenient alternative for chemical drugs prescribed by doctors, or even in more serious cases, acupuncture is highly recommended by traditional practitioners. Therefore, not only would this alternative approach contribute to saving money, but it would also avoid the need to visit a family doctor. Additionally, it can enhance the level of our immune system, because daily news reports repeatedly highlighted that many people have become poisoned as a result of excessive usage of expired drugs offered in illegal market, whether it is prescribed by doctors or not.
On the flip side, medical experts have spent an inordinate number of years studying the body environment of human in order to detect and find solutions for different ailments relating to living organs. Hence, according to their research, indicating that minor symptoms should be considered as important as major ones since they can have negative outcomes. Consequently, it is advisable to keep your health in check regularly with your doctor and visit your general practitoner on a regular basis, in order to recognise malfunctioning of internal organs at an early stage of development for further medical treatment. In this context, alternative medicine is undoubtedly not advisable.
In conclusion, as discussed above, despite the fact that citizens have become more alert and aware of their natural body behaviour, thanks to media; there are numerous things that they are still not aware of and are unclean to them, including medical-related subjects. Although some people have found that they can address common diseases with alternative medicines, like herbal and traditional methods, visiting their usual doctor is still important because there may be underlying conditions that can threaten their lives.