Tell me about a time when you suffered from an injury or were in pain.
When I was in Primary 4, I went on a school field trip to Thailand. However, something bad happened at our trip to the waterfalls. I had a fall nearby the waterfalls and fractured my ankle. Not only did I fracture my ankle, but I had to go home without travelling around the area. I was in unbearable pain and required help from other people in my simple daily activities. I had to plaster my leg and eat some calcium tablets the doctor had prescribed, as I lacked calcium in my body. I was also given a wheelchair and crutches to help me move around. It was a challenge for me to move around using the crutches at first, but after a week I got used to it and started moving around faster.
To relieve the pain in my ankle, I would lie on the bed or sofa and let my leg rest on some pillows so I could let blood circulate around my whole body, including my legs. This would make me feel better and when I stopped thinking about my ankle fracture I was in less pain, as the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt. However when I saw the signatures on my cast, it would brighten up my mood!
The use of alternative medicine is becoming very widespread. Why might this be so?
I think that alternative medicine is becoming very widespread as it is gaining the trust of many people. There are many types of alternative medicine, and the common examples include: traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, reflexology and yoga.
From what I have heard, scientific medicine often cures the symptom but often fails to discover the cause of an illness or relieve pain. However, for most alternative medicines, they help us relieve pain and some even succeeds in curing the cause of an illness. For example, foot reflexology involves the practice of massaging, squeezing, or pushing on parts of the feet, or sometimes the hands and ears, with the goal of encouraging a beneficial effect on other parts of the body, or to improve general health. This lets patients relieve their pain which will be good for their health.
Alternative medicine is also becoming widespread as scientific medicine often harms patients. There is fear of surgery and of the side effects of the drugs that alienate many people from scientific medicine. On the other hand, alternative medicine is usually less risky and less likely to cause direct harm.
In addition, alternative medicine often uses “natural” remedies which make many people believe that what is natural is safer and better than something “artificial” such as scientific medicine. For example, Chinese traditional medicine consists of different herbs which is found in nature and will gain more trust from people.
Moreover, alternative medicine is usually less expensive than scientific medicine and will be more popular among the people.
Alternative medicine also claims to treat the mind, body and soul of the patient. This makes patients believe in miracles even though they may not have a cure for their illness. While scientific medicine may sometimes seem to work miracles, the miracles of modern science are based on science and not faith.
Alternative medicine may cause concern for some people as it they may seem more interesting than scientific medicine and may be some sort of traditional medicine or part of folk knowledge and spiritual beliefs that people will be curious about. They may also cause concern for people who want to find different ways to cure diseases other than scientific medicine.
