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Jai Ganesh

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Allopathy

Allopathy

Gist

Allopathy, also known as conventional or modern medicine, is a system of medical practice that uses remedies (like drugs or surgery) to treat diseases by producing effects different from or incompatible with those produced by the disease itself. It is often contrasted with alternative or complementary systems of medicine. Allopathic medicine relies on scientific principles and evidence-based practices to diagnose and treat diseases.

Summary

Allopathic medicine is another term for conventional, or modern Western medicine. It is an evidence-based system where doctors and other healthcare professionals treat symptoms using conventional medications.

Unlike complementary medicine, allopathic medicine relies on clinical examinations and screening to confirm a diagnosis, focusing on a person’s symptoms and signs before treatment.

Conventional (allopathic) medicine treatment modalities include pharmacological drugs, surgery, and radiation therapies. Before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a drug, the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CEDR)Trusted Source reviews all drug testing data.

An allopathic doctor can prescribe medications that require a prescription.

Allopathic medicine

Allopathic medicine is a term that describes what people consider to be modern medicine. Healthcare professionals who practice allopathic medicine tend to take an evidence-based approach when they treat disease. This means they try to follow current literature guidelines and may request several diagnostic tests before deciding on the best course of treatment.

Allopathic doctors prescribe FDA-approved medications. Furthermore, the manufacturers of these drugs spend years developing and testing them via robust clinical trials to measure their effectiveness and safety.

History of the definition ‘allopathy’

In the early 19th century, German physician Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann coined the term allopathy. He did this to make a clear distinction between conventional medicine and homeopathy, a type of alternative medicine.

Allopathy originates from the Greek ‘allos’, which means other, and ‘pathia’, which means ‘suffer’.

The expression implies that medicinal treatment should produce the opposite effect of the disease or suffering.

Details

Allopathic medicine, or allopathy, is an archaic and derogatory label originally used by 19th-century homeopaths to describe heroic medicine, the precursor of modern evidence-based medicine. There are regional variations in usage of the term. In the United States, the term is sometimes used to contrast with osteopathic medicine, especially in the field of medical education. In India, the term is used to distinguish conventional modern medicine from Siddha medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, Unani and other alternative and traditional medicine traditions, especially when comparing treatments and drugs.

The terms were coined in 1810 by the creator of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann. Heroic medicine was the conventional European medicine of the time and did not rely on evidence of effectiveness. It was based on the belief that disease is caused by an imbalance of the four "humours" (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile) and sought to treat disease symptoms by correcting that imbalance, using "harsh and abusive" methods to induce symptoms seen as opposite to those of diseases rather than treating their underlying causes: disease was caused by an excess of one humour and thus would be treated with its "opposite".

A study released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2001 defined allopathic medicine as "the broad category of medical practice that is sometimes called Western medicine, biomedicine, evidence-based medicine, or modern medicine." The WHO used the term in a global study in order to differentiate Western medicine from traditional and alternative medicine, noting that in certain areas of the world "the legal standing of practitioners is equivalent to that of allopathic medicine" where practitioners can be separately certified in complementary/alternative medicine and Western medicine.

The term allopathy was also used to describe anything that was not homeopathy. Kimball Atwood, an American medical researcher and alternative medicine critic, said the meaning implied by the label of allopathy has never been accepted by conventional medicine and is still considered pejorative. American health advocate and sceptic William T. Jarvis, stated that "although many modern therapies can be construed to conform to an allopathic rationale (e.g., using a laxative to relieve constipation), standard medicine has never paid allegiance to an allopathic principle" and that the label "allopath" was "considered highly derisive by regular medicine." Most modern science-based medical treatments (antibiotics, vaccines, and chemotherapeutics, for example) do not fit Hahnemann's definition of allopathy, as they seek to prevent illness or to alleviate an illness by eliminating its cause.

Additional Information

Are you interested in a rewarding career as a physician, where you can help play a key role in your community and enjoy opportunities for career growth? In that case, specializing in allopathic medicine might be the ideal path for you.

Allopathic physicians practice modern medicine to treat various conditions using therapies, drugs, or surgery. Read on to find out more about allopathic medicine, what an allopathic physician is, and what education and training you will need.

What is allopathic medicine?

Allopathic medicine is the general term for what most people understand as modern, Western medicine. The allopathic medicine definition describes it as a method of treating disease with remedies (such as surgery or drugs) that produce different effects from those caused by the disease.

It takes a science-based approach to treating patients and uses conventional modern medical treatments such as surgery, medication, and therapies.

Allopathic physicians have the title of MD or medical doctor and have various responsibilities related to maintaining health, such as prevention and acute care. They can specialize in several different specialty areas and build a career in research or teaching.

Allopathic medicine is also called biomedicine, mainstream medicine, conventional medicine, and orthodox medicine.

What does an allopathic physician do?

So, what is an allopathic physician? The role of an allopathic physician is to examine patients, request diagnostic tests, make diagnoses and provide treatment. They use surgery, radiation, clinical trials, and FDA-approved medications to treat their patients.

Allopathic physicians also provide preventative allopathic care through antibiotics, vaccinations, and screenings. They counsel patients about injuries, health conditions, and illnesses and educate patients on preventative healthcare such as diet, fitness, and stopping smoking.

In a hospital, physicians provide allopathic care for emergency patients and those with life-threatening or serious illnesses. They may also perform surgeries. Allopathic physicians can work in laboratories as researchers looking for causes of illnesses and diseases and new and effective treatments.

An allopathic physician will typically work with other medical professionals in different fields to provide a package of quality healthcare for patients. Their main duties will depend on their specific specialties; however, the typical duties of an allopathic doctor include:

* Recording patient histories
* Performing physical examinations
* Requesting, performing, and interpreting diagnostic tests
* Giving vaccinations
* Prescribing medications
* Carrying out surgeries
* Ordering physical therapies
* Referring patients to other professionals for specialized care
* Counseling patients and their families
* Educating and mentoring other medical professionals
* Conducting research

What are the benefits of allopathic medicine?

Allopathic medicine seeks to bring the body and mind back into a healed state by focusing on the cause of the problem and removing it. Physicians follow a system to cure acute and life-threatening injuries and illnesses that utilize the most advanced technology.

There are many advantages of allopathic medicine, for example:

* Doctors have access to the latest technology to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries
* Allopathic doctors are highly skilled physicians who can treat illnesses and injuries and perform tests to help improve the quality of life of their patients
* Patients have access to the best medicines available to aid healing
* All allopathic doctors and nurses are licensed, ensuring patients have legal protection and only receive the best treatment
* Huge investment goes into research and development. New treatments and medicines are developed daily
* There are medical facilities in every town. There’s always somewhere a patient can go to seek medical help.

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