what is the difference between holistic medicine, alternative and

Deals_2

or complementary? or are they all the same thing?htanks in advance

Hapless_2

Holistic medicine treats the whole body as one, I tend to think that complementary is something you can use alongside prescription meds e.g. massage, reiki, reflexology etc. Alternative is what I class as herbal, homeopathic etc.
Many people have many differing views on this though.

Justie

the terms can be interchangeable but usually refer to non-NHS treatments. Holistic just means 'whole body' and lots of the therapies will look at the whole body rather than just the bit that hurts/ails - ie on the NHS if you go to the GP with wrist pain then that's what they'll treat where as a chiropractor or acupuncturist would treat your whole body to improve the condition of the wrist. Complementary is usually used for treatments that are used alongside conventional medicine - so you may have drugs from your GP to treat migraines but also see a massage therapist or osteopath. Alternative is usually used for treatments that are used instead of conventional medicine but not always - herbalists and homeopaths will still work alongside conventional medicine and make sure that anything the prescribe doesn't interfere with any other drugs you've been taken. Lots of therapies fit into all 3 categories depending on who's talking.