Medicine can be defined as the use of substances to cure, prevent or eliminate diseases, with the intent of keeping human health and life in optimum conditions. Medication is used for all disorders and diseases, including psychological problems such as mood swings, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and other types of illnesses. It may include the administration of medicine, surgery, diagnostic tests and psychotherapy. Health is a condition of mental, physical and social well being where infirmity and disease are absent.
The modern medicine has undergone radical changes owing to technological advances. Many people now rely on complementary medicine to stay healthy. Modern medicine has many categories like general practice, specialist, pediatric, women’s health, surgery, complementary care and pharmacy. It also involves ethical issues like compulsory treatment, adverse effects and marketing of pharmaceutical products. These days most health professionals use pharmaceutical products. They also use non-pharmaceutical approaches in place of using drugs and medicines.
In the developing countries like India, the medical practices are not as advanced as those in developed countries. There is a lack of basic infrastructure and resources, especially in rural areas. This means that even in cases of emergency, primary health care takes a long time before the patient is fully treated.
However, advancements in science and technology have led to major improvements in the field of medicine. There have been major changes in the definition of illness, diagnosis and treatments. Also, there has been impact health in developing countries where medical practices are not well developed and where the access to medical facilities is low.
Complementary medicine covers a broad range of medical practice from traditional indigenous practices to new methods developed based on scientific approaches. For example, Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medical practice which draws on the wisdom of India’s scientists, yoga practitioners and traditional healers. It combines these various approaches to provide a holistic approach to medicine. The impact of complementary medicine is increasing in developing countries where medical practices are often not well developed and services may not be accessible to many people.