Opinion Essay Integration of Alternative Medicine with Conventional Medicine (Школьные сочинения)

Alternative medicine by definition is meant to be used instead of conventional medicine. It seems to me, though, that it can be combined with conventional medicine, and there are several arguments based on worldwide experience.

Firstly, one of the popular approaches to this problem is complementary medicine - treatments that are used along with standard medical treatments but are not considered to be standard treatments. One example is using acupuncture to help lessen some side effects of cancer treatment.

Secondly, a slightly different approach, integrative medicine, which uses only the complementary methods that have been proven to be effective and safe, has shown significant positive effects. For example, therapies such as acupuncture, yoga, meditation, and guided imagery are increasingly integrated into today's western conventional treatment of heart disease, cancer, and other serious illnesses, and scientific evidence supports this approach to health and healing.

It is argued that non-conventional medicine can’t be used at all.

Some herbs, supplements, and vitamins have potential side effects, and, although many claim to be “natural, ” this doesn’t always mean they’re safe. For example, some herbal products used in traditional Chinese medicine may contain heavy metals, like lead or arsenic.

However, this point of view seems somewhat unreasonable to me because many forms of complementary medicine, like meditation, don’t have many side effects and can be used safely. Alternative medicine can be very dangerous if it’s used in place of traditional treatments, not when it is complementing conventional methods.

All things considered, I believe that in our country alternative medicine could be integrated with conventional medicine if it’s done right. Approaches like complementary and integrative medicine have shown their effectiveness, therefore if our medical specialists accept them and start using them instead of abiding alternative or conventional methods altogether, I think that our country’s healthcare will crucially improve.