Hostility, Why Are Some Medical Professionals So Hostile To Certain Forms Of Alternative Health Care?

1. Dr. T Says

   I think there’s more than one answer to this question…
   A certain amount of anger due to frustration with people purporting to be “alternative practitioners” who have little to no understanding of pathophysiology (or anatomy, or microbiology, or or or…) is understandable. There’s a lot of crap out there in the ether, when it comes to “alternative medicine.” It drives me nuts, too!
   Furthermore, “alternative medicine” is such a huge umbrella term! It applies to everything from “crystal healing” to herbal and orthomolecular medicine!! So having a bone to pick with “alt med” is a lot like developing an opinion about Canada based on your observations during a brief trip to Toronto. Y’know?
   That said… I also see a tremendous dogmatic approach to medical science has historically been HEAVILY reinforced in mainstream medicine. (EG: Look into the politics and history of the American Medical Association starting in the 1930′s.)
   The pursuit of scientific knowledge isn’t about proving right or wrong, it’s supposed to be about maintaining an open mind as we learn more about ourselves, our bodies and the world around us. Challenge everything. (Not “challenge some stuff that seems unfamiliar.”) That noble pursuit became bastardized a little over the last few decades, as science assumed “new chemical treatments” were implicitly better.
   That bias is changing slowly in the research, AND in it’s application to patient care. But change can be challenging! Especially for those who really cut their teeth during the height of that dogmatic culture. When you challenge dogmatic thinking, there’s inevitably a bit of a backlash.
   Lastly… “hostility” (as you call it) is hardly exclusive to mainstream medicine. This very question has an underlying passive aggressive quality. “Alt medders” are equally guilty! I often see an assumption that anything “mainstream medicine” is bad or corrupt. So when they’re challenged, far too many “alt medders” also respond with fire and vitriol. And that is equally unfortunate.
   ——————————
   Case in point – referring to people who don’t agree with you, yet have posted some very intelligent responses to your question as “the disease.”

2. angrydoc Says

   Hostility comes from the horror of seeing alties giving bad advice to people who really need help. Bad advice that comes from a refusal to study science and look at evidence and instead relying on fallacies such as the “medical establishment is in cahoots with big pharma!” or “the ancients knew the secrets of health.”
   You notice hostility but I notice a refusal from alties to face the issue: does alt med work? Instead they ask pointless questions like this.
   The best way to shut skeptics up is to provide proof of your claims. Where is the science? Where is the evidence?

3. jrabkin1 Says

   It has become institutionalized, but the basis is – after careful review – financial. Doctors and the large pharmaceutical companies want to maintain elitism in order to be able to continue to charge the fees and prices that they do.
   Take for instance, homeopathy. (Disclaimer: I am married to a homeopath.) Homeopathic remedies are intended to CURE illness. Most western (“allopathic”) prescription medications are used to SUPPRESS symptoms (so you need to continue to pay for the Rx).
   The hostility has evolved into a defense mechanism. In this way, they can attack with derision rather than exert even the a small effort to learn about these very effective “alternatives.”

4. Anonymous Says

   Because them saying any thing positive about alternative medicine, is like taking away from their profits. In U.S. medicine is business, I am from Europe and practically every doctor will suggest alt med and then western med. We use a lot of herbal medicine you can buy only in pharmacies or herbal stores and if this does not work, the the doctor will prescribe med.

5. dave Says

   I would imagine that it comes from a strong desire not to see gullible members of the public given false hope with wacko ‘treatments’ that cannot possibly work, sold by under-educated, non-qualified conmen who are only interested in milking their customers dry, even if the person is suffering from a fatal condition and cannot possibly be helped in any way by the treatment being proffered.
   Jus’ a guess though……

6. mike Says

   I think they want to have solid evidence behind medicines. Mis-diagnosis and treatment could and does prove to be fatal in situations where it doesn’t need to be. Someone could try a “Anternative Medicine” and cost themselves precious time, in which a proven cure could have solved the problem (cancer).

7. Weise Ente Says

   Because most of them have been shown repeatedly to not work at all.
   Their promotion and use endanger lives.

8. Flizbap 2.0 Says

   Because using treatment with no evidence behind it wastes valuable time and money that could be much better spent on a treatment with PROOF of some degree of efficacy.

9. noor Says

   I wanted to ask this question too. I don’t why they don’t leave well enough alone. Go their separate ways and let people who choose natural medicine live their life and be happy. It is seriously ridiculous that they have nothing better to do then put down something that is contrary to their beliefs and mentality.
   It is a relatively new field and with anything new there will be a backlash of naysayers who don’t want to accept it. But in time an equilibrium will be reached and people will see that you don’t ALWAYS need scienctific studies to prove something works, you can see it’s “proof” from the happy customers.
   It’s like believing in God. It’s not about scientific proof.

10. Rhianna Says

    I wouldn’t call it hostility and neither is conventional medicine failing- on the contrary actually..And even IF conventional medicine was failing, this STILL does not demonstrate efficacy of AltMed.
    In particular, myself, AngryDoc, SkepDoc and Dr. Frank are health care workers, we also come from quite a strong science background too,- we are all too aware of the dangers of AltMed as well as the implausibility of some of the ridiclous claims made here. Just by avoiding conventional medicine and pursuing activities that have never been demonstrated to work, actually puts peoples health at risk. Also, some of the claims that are made here are simply dangerous and should be counter pointed.
    Check out this lady who wants to give her child 35% H2O2, for example: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;…
    Our comments are there, take it or leave it, but dangerous and false claims made by the AltMed brigade should not go unchallenged.
    ======================================…
    Edit@ Noor: While we are committed to persevering everyone’s’ right to freedom of choice, this must be balanced with the risk to the vulnerable and gullible in society. AltMed isn’t without risk.
    Also, AltMed is not a “relatively new field “. Most of it is very old and most was invented in a pre-scientific era. These practices have been left behind because they do not stand up to scientific scrutiny.- There is no evidence they work.
    And I wouldn’t be so quick to discount the need for scientific studies This is a stupid comment. Scientific method removes bias, this makes medicine safer and more effective. This is the best method we have of determining what works and what doesn’t.
    You are attacking scientific method and the need for it, simply because you don’t like the results. That’s childish.
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    Er regarding profit. Newsflash! The alties do not provide their “services” free of charge! This is also completely irrelevant as to whether or not something actually works.
    You cannot claim we are hostile simply because we challenge your woo. We are mostly very polite, however I accept that arguments do ensue.

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