by:
lim ju boo
I had at least 15 episodes of diarrhoea since last night due to food poisoning, that finally resolved on its own without any treatment or doctor's pills and his chemical "medicine". This prompted me to write this thought and understand article how our body works without the interference of doctor's so-called "medicines".
Abstract
Modern medicine has achieved remarkable progress in diagnostics and acute care, yet its prevailing approach to chronic illness remains predominantly symptom-focused. Rather than addressing the underlying causes of disease, conventional treatments often rely on pharmaceuticals to silence the body's natural distress signals. This essay explores the dangers of suppressing symptoms without resolving root causes, highlighting the consequences of polypharmacy and the progression of interconnected diseases. Through practical examples such as hypertension, diabetes, and even common diarrhoea, the essay calls for a paradigm shift — one that listens to the body, respects its innate healing mechanisms, and embraces a compassionate, integrative model of care.
Introduction
In today’s fast-paced world, both patients and physicians are increasingly drawn to quick solutions , the kind that promise rapid relief from pain, discomfort, or dysfunction. Modern medicine, while undeniably life-saving in many situations, often focuses on silencing symptoms rather than understanding them. A fever is quickly lowered, pain masked, a blood pressure reduced, all without asking the vital question: Why did the body produce this symptom in the first place?
Symptoms are not merely random malfunctions; they are purposeful responses, carefully orchestrated by the body to restore balance and health. Yet, instead of treating these responses with respect and curiosity, many conventional treatments attempt to suppress them with chemicals that may relieve discomfort in the short term but risk compounding the problem in the long run.
This essay explores the implications of this symptom-suppression model, showing how a cascade of chronic illnesses can unfold when the root causes remain unaddressed. It calls for a return to a more thoughtful, compassionate, and integrative approach to a healing one.
In the ever-evolving landscape of modern medicine, we are witnessing remarkable breakthroughs in surgery, imaging, emergency care, and molecular therapies. Yet, despite these scientific advances, a troubling pattern persists, one that sees disease symptoms treated as enemies to be conquered rather than messages to be understood.
Too often, the focus of conventional medicine is to suppress symptoms using pharmaceuticals, rather than address the root causes of disease. This approach treats the human body as a malfunctioning machine, in need of chemical tuning. Yet, the human body is not a machine, it is a self-regulating, intelligent organism, designed with extraordinary healing potential.
The Problem with Symptom Suppression
Symptoms are not the disease itself. They are warning signals, the body’s cry for help. When we experience fever, pain, fatigue, diarrhoea, or even skin eruptions, these are not merely nuisances. They are protective mechanisms, often initiated by the immune or detoxification systems, attempting to restore balance.
When these signals are silenced with medication — without understanding why they occurred, we interfere with the body’s natural defence systems. Unfortunately, many patients, driven by discomfort and impatience, demand fast relief. Physicians, under pressure to provide quick solutions, often prescribe drugs that suppress these very cries of distress. The body, exhausted and unheard, may then enter a phase of silence, not recovery, but depletion. And in that silence, deeper degenerative disease may brew.
A Domino Effect of Diseases
Consider the progression of chronic illness in a typical patient. It might begin with high blood pressure, often linked to chronic stress, poor diet, and lack of exercise. Rather than targeting these causes, antihypertensive are prescribed to manage the numbers. Over time, the same patient may develop type 2 diabetes due to insulin resistance, again linked to the same lifestyle factors. More medications follow.
As the years progress, complications arise, kidney damage, nerve pain, gangrenous ulcers, vision loss, or heart failure. Each condition becomes a diagnosis. Each diagnosis adds another prescription. And the cycle continues.
This spiral of treating symptoms without addressing causes leads to polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications for multiple conditions, many of which are interlinked or drug-induced. The body becomes overburdened, the side effects accumulate, and quality of life declines. Meanwhile, the healthcare system grows wealthier, not by curing disease, but by maintaining it.
A Closer Look: Diarrhoea as Nature’s Defense
Let us take a simple example: diarrhoea caused by food poisoning. When contaminated food enters the body, the gastrointestinal system initiates rapid elimination, through vomiting or diarrhoea, to expel the toxin before it causes further harm. This response is natural, intelligent, and protective.
However, many patients visit their doctor demanding relief from this “unpleasant” symptom. The physician, in turn, may prescribe antiemetics like dimenhydrinate and anti-diarrhoeals like loperamide or diphenoxylate with atropine. These drugs suppress the body’s cleansing process, trapping the toxins inside.
In healthy adults, even 10 to 15 episodes of loose stools rarely cause serious dehydration. The body has remarkable homeostatic mechanisms to maintain electrolyte balance. In most cases, simple rehydration with water and salt, or oral rehydration salts (ORS), is sufficient. Coconut water, rich in potassium and naturally sterile, has even been recommended by the World Health Organization in rural settings where access to medical care is limited.
If the cause is bacterial, probiotics like yogurt can help repopulate the gut with beneficial flora. But the rush to block the symptoms rather than support the body’s healing leads to worsening toxicity. Ironically, the very response meant to save us is being shut down by the medicines meant to help.
The Patient’s Role in Healing
Modern patients, influenced by advertising and conditioned by culture, often view the doctor as a mechanic and the body as a vehicle. There is an expectation of a "quick fix", a pill to stop the pain, another to fix the blood sugar, and another to lower the cholesterol. This model robs the patient of agency and discourages self-awareness, lifestyle change, and trust in the body’s innate wisdom.
True healing takes time. It requires understanding the origins of illness, whether dietary, emotional, environmental, or genetic. It demands a willingness to rest, to nourish, to detoxify, and to gently stimulate the body’s own repair systems. It is a journey, not an instant solution.
A Time and Place for Pharmaceuticals
This is not to deny the life-saving power of modern medicine. Antibiotics, antivirals, insulin, antithrombotic drugs, and emergency surgeries have saved countless lives. But when it comes to chronic, degenerative diseases, lifestyle-driven and environmentally influenced, a pill-first approach may do more harm than good.
We need a medicine that listens. A medicine that respects the symptoms as signals, not problems. A medicine that honours the body’s design, not overrides it. This is not alternative medicine. This is intelligent, compassionate, and integrative medicine.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Our Wisdom
The body is not our enemy. Its symptoms are not betrayals but warnings, urgent cries for change. When we ignore them or silence them with drugs, we risk missing the opportunity for true healing.
Let us return to a wiser path, one where the doctor is not merely a prescriber, but a teacher and guide. Where the patient is not a passive recipient, but an active partner. And where the body, in all its divine intelligence, is finally heard.
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