When you get sick or have some sort of health issue, your instinct makes you reach for the medicine cabinet. You pop a couple of pills and hope that they solve the problem. In many cases, you get relief from your issues, and it genuinely helps. However, should you automatically opt for medication when you have a health problem?
Full disclosure, I’m obviously not a doctor so don’t take anything in this guide as medical advice. If you have a health issue, always see a medical professional to get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. Still, here are a few reasons you might want to consider avoiding medication or trying other ideas before you reach for it.
There may be natural alternatives
In a lot of cases, you can find natural alternatives to prescription medication. This is obviously preferable as natural things can improve your overall health, while drugs fill it with chemicals. There aren’t natural alternatives in some instances, but it pays to do some research to make sure. However, look at something simple like nausea or stomach pain. A lot of people suffer from these health issues, particularly pregnant women. The instinctive reaction is to get anti-nausea tablets and take them. But, you can use ginger to provide natural relief instead!
Sometimes, natural alternatives to medication can be employed to avoid needing to take medication. If you have high blood pressure, changes to your eating and lifestyle habits can naturally lower it to a safe range, preventing the need to take any medication. So, don’t always assume drugs are the answer; you could find a more natural, chemical-free alternative.
Medication can be addictive
It’s far too common for someone to become addicted to medication. You see this a lot with opioids and other pain-relief drugs. People get into a habit of relying on drugs to ease symptoms, making it impossible to live life without them.
Unfortunately, drugs also have secondary effects on your body that can be very damaging. It’s also far too easy to become addicted to prescription medication. So, you may want to consider avoiding it if you have addictive tendencies or are worried about depending too much on a particular drug.
If you feel that you’re addicted to prescription medication, it’s worth taking steps to tackle your addiction. The first step is to discuss the issue with your doctor. But, you should also seek help from a specialized drug addiction treatment center.
If you search for outpatient drug treatment near me on Google or ask your doctor for a referral to a local center, you can start taking positive action to curb your addiction.
Medication fills your body with chemicals
As mentioned previously, medication can put chemicals in your body. Some of these work to provide relief from your problems, but others cause more harm to other regions of your body. Adderall is a great example as this drug is commonly used to treat ADHD and other conditions. The problem is that it causes havoc to your hormonal system and can create lots of chemical imbalances. To make matters worse, you can have Adderall in your system for a few days following ingestion. So, these effects can linger and cause further problems.
Some pain-relief meds are also a prime example of how chemicals can harm the body. Yes, you get relief from pain, but a lot of this medication damages the stomach lining and can cause ulcers with constant use. Even if you need medication for your health issue, it can be helpful to avoid it as much as possible, preventing too many chemicals from building up.
You don’t always tackle the problem head on
The biggest issue with a lot of medication is that you rarely tackle the health problem head-on. I’ve mentioned pain-relief drugs a lot, mainly because they’re so common. But, if you have chronic back pain, taking medication will hardly help. Sure, you get temporary relief, but the cause of your issue hasn’t been tackled. If you underwent rehab therapy and did corrective stretches/exercises, this would attack the cause of your back pain. In the long run, you’ll be pain-free without any medication.
Sometimes there are health issues that cannot be solved. In these instances, medication is the only way you can treat the problem. As such, you should obviously take it if it’s the only way to help! Still, it’s worth considering why you have a health issue before you jump to the medicine cabinet. Is this a problem that can be solved with natural remedies or lifestyle changes?
That’s as good a place as any to wrap up this article! Overall, the message is that you don’t have to use medication to treat a lot of your health problems. Of course, make sure you follow the advice of your doctor or another health professional before doing anything. In fact, if you automatically self-prescribe medication for any health issue, you’ll be surprised at how often a doctor will provide alternatives that have longer-lasting effects.
