Allopathy
is a term used by homeopaths, naturopaths, chiropractors
and other advocates of alternative health practices
to refer to traditional medicine. My Random House Dictionary
of the English
Language (unabridged edition) defines allopathy as "the
method of treating disease by the use of agents that
produce effects different from those of the disease
treated (opposed to homeopathy)." The word was
invented by homeopath Samuel Hahnemann as a term for
those who are other than homeopaths. In America, the
term has not caught on and is used mainly by "alternative"
practitioners and some osteopaths.
Allopathy, as it turns out, was another invention of
homeopath Samuel Hahnemann, being his term for all medical
theories and practices which didn't fit into his like
cures like superstition. (whereas "homeo"
means "same, "allo" means "other")
Today, allopathy is sometimes applied to the kind of
medicine learned and practiced by M.D. degree physicians,
although many of them may not know it. Often it's an
innocent usage by D.O. degree physicians who are trying
to distinguish themselves from the M.D.s. But because
most physicians with either degree are practicing the
same sort of medicine, the term allopathy is of no more
use than that of osteopathy, except as a sort of anachronism. More often, allopathy
is a term used by quacks to smear their opposition.
There are several advantages in their doing so. One
is that it appears to ally them with osteopaths, even
though most D.O.s, like most M.D.s, are practicing legitimate
medicine. Another reason is that quacks wish to portray
their enemy as an exclusive medical sectarian establishment.
For the public will understandably let them get away
with failing to address objections to their methods
that can be cast as the jealous and idiosyncratic disapproval
of self-interested competition. Finally, and most importantly,
quacks need very much to avoid facing up to the fact
that their detractors are defending an honest and open
scientific approach. And above all, quacks need their
victims to believe that their methods are an "alternative,"
not to the continually evolving facts and reason of
medical science, but to some nebulous (and nefarious)
scheme of "allopathic," "orthodox,"
and/or "traditional" medicine.
Allopathy vs. Alternative
Charles Osgood noted the New England Journal of Medicine
(May 1998), reporting that too many doctors treat a
single major disease and neglect other problems a patient
may have. An example was given involving a patient suffering
from diabetes who may also have problems with osteoporosis
- however, while one disease is treated, the other remains
untreated.
Several thoughts come to mind from this. One likely
problem is that patients will generally see a specialist
who is thoroughly trained in their major problem. In
the case of heart disease, they will see a heart specialist
who may not look at other symptoms such as chronic fatigue.
Another example may be a lung specialist who treats
a patient for emphysema while ignoring the patient's
leg cramps or arthritis. I believe this "specialist"
practice might actually benefit the patient, as general
practitioner's might be more inclined to treat every
symptom at once with a lengthy list of drugs. This flooding
of drugs into the system can cause a toxic overload,
and may also produce other interrelated drug reactions.
From the medical point of view, however, the cause is
more likely the over-specialization of the profession.
Each organ system is treated by a different specialist.
Doctors no longer view patients as a single, functioning
entity with interrelating problems, and instead approaches
each organ systems problems as specific and unrelated
to symptoms found in the rest of the body.
When we consider this problem as described in the New
England Journal of Medicine we find ourselves returning
once again to the Gerson Therapy as the answer. The
Gerson Therapy does not address a specific problem but
looks at the underlying malfunctions as a whole. By
restoring the organ systems and defenses, the Therapy
heals the whole body rather than treating a specific
disease, or a single part of the body. As we have seen
repeatedly, it is impossible to heal selectively! When
the body's natural healing mechanism (as Dr. Gerson
called it) is reactivated, the body clears all the symptoms
of malfunction. Almost every patient story that we publish
illustrates and confirms this important point.
English
Language (unabridged edition) defines allopathy as "the
method of treating disease by the use of agents that
produce effects different from those of the disease
treated (opposed to homeopathy)." The word was
invented by homeopath Samuel Hahnemann as a term for
those who are other than homeopaths. In America, the
term has not caught on and is used mainly by "alternative"
practitioners and some osteopaths.
