As far as natural holistic healthcare is concerned we live in changing times. Way too much self diagnosis and self-evaluation is going on. It's dangerous, and it's no longer necessary. At one time information was exclusively spread by word of mouth. People desperately tried to find answers on their own and then implement the cure themselves. Sometimes they were correct and other times they were dead wrong.
Word-Of-Mouth and Self-Help
As I mentioned, at one time in history the only way people could learn about natural medicine was by word of mouth. There simply weren't trained practitioners available to consult with. Throughout the 20th century, the printing press was a great friend to natural healthcare. It was the primary way that many of us learned about this new and exciting form of healing.
Whether people learned about natural medicine through word-of-mouth or by reading books, the bottom line was that they needed to diagnose and treat themselves. This is no longer the case. Yet many people are still stuck in self-help mode. Or worse yet, they are hoping against hope that their chemically-based medical practitioners will somehow begin to magically talk to them about natural medicine. If and when that happens, two things will be true. First, it won't happen magically and second it will occur slowly over a long period of time.
Either way you look at it, self-help is not the way to go. At best it is unwise and at worst it is harmful.
While it was difficult to learn about natural healthcare in the United States, by the latter part of the 20th century, allopathic, chemically-based, doctors could be found in almost every town and, in some cases, on just about every street corner. That is still the case today. The only problem is that more and more people are dissatisfied with a purely chemical approach to health-care.
Face to Face with Technology
The main feature of having doctors, of any discipline, readily available is the fact that you can talk to them face to face, they can look at you, examine you and you can receive professional advice accordingly. Obviously if you need surgery, stitches or the like having a doctor present is mandatory. If you think about it though, surgery and physical examinations aside, many times we will go to a medical doctor and simply consult. Additional procedures such as x-rays, blood work, etc., are recommended and most of the time it didn't require that you were physically present in the office to get your needs met.
In the current age of technology face-to-face on the Internet or heartfelt communication via the telephone provides a viable alternative to an in-office visit. Recommendations can still be made to access local services as the result of a modern "distance" consultation.
If you're one of the lucky ones that lives in a community where natural healthcare is widely available and you are able to find someone you like, then by all means you should be connected locally. However, the age of technology is providing us with a growing opportunity to interface with specialists and experts in many different fields, including teaching, finance, counseling and medicine. What may be available by way of a specialist in Phoenix, Arizona can potentially now be available worldwide.
Long-Distance Care
As this phenomenon continues one can only imagine how new technologies will support new levels of human contact over distances, time and space. I personally look forward to the day when I will be able to fully examine a patient by means of some new technology, in spite of the fact that hundreds or even thousands of miles might physically separate that person from me.
Does this sound absurdly strange? Personally, I would have had difficulty in 1959 imagining millions of people walking around with personal communication devices and speaking with other people all over the face of the planet via their cell phones. I still find it amazing when I can sit down to an Internet consultation with a patient and they can specifically point to the part of their body that's bothering them and I can clearly see it from thousands of miles away.
So here is the bottom line. We're here to help regardless of where you are located.
Blessings,
Dr. Ron Cherubino
