The price of pharmaceuticals and medical treatments is, frankly speaking, exaggerated these days, so what about using alternative stuff?

This does not pretend to be medical or scientific advice; only common sense: Medicine is a science, of course; self-medication is wrong as well as many of the so-called alternative treatments simply because they lack scientific basis and have not been properly tested. But when one begins to consider the fact that several pharmaceutical products have increased their price tenfold in some countries while exactly the same products still cost the same as before just across the border makes one wonder... Why does it have to cost so much to stay healthy? Are those who pay far more really healthier than others or is there some sort of abuse?

Quality is often cited when someone attempts to justify such discrepancies; perhaps it would be right to say that there are some strong differences between the standards applicable in the United States and Mali, Bolivia, Haiti or Ethiopia, but what about a comparison between the U.S. and Canada?

It is fair to say that this is not the only field of activity where prices have gone to the stratosphere: small aircraft in the U.S. cost now five times more than twenty years ago while in the world, for the most part, prices have only increases slightly. Just try to buy, for example, a Cessna C182: Now it will put you off about US$200.000 to get one brand-new in the United States, but the same airplane in the early eighties used to cost one third of that, and if you purchase it used elsewhere and have it restored and refurbished to a "like-new" condition it will still cost you about one fourth to one third of the current U.S. price.

The reason is not technology but taxes and insurance costs. In a country where is relatively easy to legally challenge anyone for almost any conceivable reason, companies that manufacture products or provide services that could cause potential hazards or risks for human life are, of course, prime targets of those who seek true, sincere justice when confronted by problems, but also from those who just are acting opportunistically. Season that with some oligopolistic or monopolistic practices here and there, and these incredible price increases become easier to explain: An excess of "justice" is as bad as the lack of it.

The fact that lots of people cannot afford such prices creates new opportunities for entrepreneurs: In this way, experimental aviation based on do-it-yourself airplane kits has become a viable industry, and in terms of medicine, natural and alternative treatments are also becoming more popular. But as with anything not yet tested completely, there is also room for scams and errors. Not necessarily everything that is offered as alternative medical practices or products should be wrong or lack seriousness, but "caveat emptor," it is important to remember that there is very little margin for error in these things, and if you have any sort of doubt you should seek proper medical advice first, even if you don't really trust your M.D. these days as much as before. Just listen, and then decide.

However and on the same train of thought, keep your options opened: Staying informed and considering alternatives is not unsafe per se, it doesn't go against any sort of scientific grounds neither it is dangerous for one's own health. On the contrary: Looking at what is offered both in terms of conventional medicine as well as alternative ways is an eye-opener.

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Source: Andinia.com

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