Along with what we consider to be ordinary orthodox drugs, there are a number of therapies such as homeopathy and herbal medicines, which are commonly referred to as alternative medicine. Many doctors consider the forms of this alternative medicine as a medicine for shamans. But what are they? And do they have a role to play in acne treatment?
The main difference between alternative medicine and ordinary treatment is to focus on all people. Orthodox drugs as we know today tend to focus on this disease, in this case, pimples, and parts of the body affected, usually face. Alternative medicine focuses on all people.
So while ordinary doctors are sometimes guilty isolate patients from disease – sometimes refer to them as “acne in bed 6”, or “acne in to see you at three o’clock”, a complementary therapist will never do it that. He will spend a lot of time knowing you, what you eat, where you work, how your family is, do you have stress, etc. Certain care plans are then adjusted to individuals. So two people with the same disease as acne, may get totally different treatments.
Now this is actually a good thing. All attention to detail makes the patient feel heard, that the problem has been handled. This is part of what makes complementary medicine very effective, even in acne treatment, where we know stress has a role to play.
Unfortunately, it also makes it very difficult to study the effects of certain therapy in this disease. In orthodox drugs, there is a famous effect called the placebo effect. This means that if a group of people are given substances that are truly inactive and say it is to say, new acne drugs, about one in three people will still report the increase in their acne. And this effect can last up to six weeks or even longer. The effect is increasingly improved if people who receive drugs like and trust people who remove drugs.
So how does all this apply to acne care? It’s in several ways.
First, acne is a skin disease, which is the largest organ in the body. The skin condition can reflect the general conditions of the whole body. And we know that stress, for example, has a role to play in worsening acne in people who are already vulnerable to having acne.
Also, many complementary drugs are shared in low doses to almost neglected. Attention is given to nutrition and all individuals. People who don’t like using drugs, especially when many drugs used to treat acne have side effects, maybe find this more interesting.
There is no definite study that can prove or refute the effect of alternative medicine on acne treatment. The most reasonable thing to do if you decide to try alternative acne treatment, is to tell your ordinary doctor, especially if you are still undergoing medical treatment. Don’t stop your medicine suddenly to switch because it might be dangerous to do it.
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