Phytotherapist

Methods of phytotherapy consist in the impact on the human body of substances contained in medicinal herbs and plants. Such plants can be used fresh and dried, in addition, the active substances from them are extracted by simple extraction actions and become components of preparations, infusions, ointments, and fees. Sometimes other non-traditional areas of medicine, such as fungotherapy and apitherapy (treatment with mushrooms or bee products), are also referred to as herbal medicine, but this is not entirely correct. The fundamental idea of ​​herbal medicine is based on the use of plant elements.

A doctor who specializes in the application of herbal medicine treatments is called a herbalist. The colloquial, popular name for this specialist is a herbalist.

Phytotherapist – healer or physician

There are differing opinions as to whether herbal treatment is a complete medical therapy. The use of various herbs and plants to rid a person of ailments has several millennia of history, in fact, the history of medicine began with this – with the study of the properties of plants surrounding a person and their use to alleviate the condition of patients.

However, many people today are very skeptical about herbal medicine specialists, considering them to be something like psychics and healers. This point of view is not true.

A phytotherapist is a doctor who has a higher medical or pharmacological education, and has also completed special qualification courses. In rare cases, these doctors are trained in the specialty by the corresponding faculties of higher educational institutions of medical orientation, although there are very few such universities. Only subject to the availability of an appropriate level of education, a phytotherapist has the right to receive patients.

The division of medicine into traditional and non-traditional is considered very conditional. At its core, herbal medicine is a clinical discipline, involving the process of treatment, and it must be considered from a scientific, medical point of view. As a science, it has concentrated in itself a system of knowledge that reflects the objective reality of the impact of biological means on the human body. And although herbal medicine is often referred to as traditional medicine, this does not at all indicate its medical failure.

What does a physiotherapist do

Phytotherapeutist specializes in the use of medicinal herbs for the treatment and prevention of various diseases. This doctor must necessarily have knowledge in the field of pharmacology, physiology, pathological anatomy and other general medical sciences.

Specialists of this profile are usually contacted in cases where traditional doctors cannot diagnose diseases and disorders in the human body, or there is an established diagnosis, but the prescribed therapy does not work. The doctor can carry out diagnostic measures, prescribe additional physiological or laboratory tests, develop treatment regimens, as well as a system of preventive measures.

The competence of a phytotherapist includes:

• collection of anamnesis through questioning and examination of the patient, analysis of data from special studies;
• study of the impact of herbal preparations and medicinal substances on the human body;
• assessment of the impact of treatment on the work of internal organs that perform a filtration function in the human body (kidneys, liver);
• familiarization of the patient with the possible consequences and side effects of various herbal remedies;
• preparation of herbal preparations, tinctures, ointments and other medicines, procurement of material for them;
• prescribing prophylactic therapy.

The greatest effect usually has a treatment regimen based on the individual selection of herbal preparations and preparations for a particular person, taking into account his condition, habits, lifestyle.

Organs and parts of the body that the doctor treats

A distinctive feature of the work of this doctor is his specialization – he must approach the treatment of a person comprehensively, as a single mechanism in which all its parts (organs and systems) are interconnected.

Patients come to him with a variety of problems, most often those who could not be helped by traditional medicine, so the herbalist has to deal with ailments of almost all organs and parts of the body:

• nervous system;
• skin;
• muscles, joints, bones, spine;
• oral cavity;
• gastrointestinal tract;
• lungs;
• kidneys, liver, reproductive system;
• eyes, nails, hair;
• endocrine and cardiovascular systems;
• limbs.

What diseases are referred to a phytotherapeutist

The list of diseases with which the doctor-phytotherapeutist works is unusually extensive. Among them are migraine, bronchitis, neurosis, acute respiratory viral diseases, sleep disorders, gastritis, pancreatitis, duodenitis, cholecystitis, enteritis and colitis, hormonal disorders, cystitis, diabetes mellitus, some venereal diseases, allergies of various etiologies, skin rashes.

In cases where a person’s condition is threatening, or requires surgical intervention, a qualified herbalist will most likely not take up his treatment, but refer him to the appropriate physician. The fact is that the effect of phytopreparations has a cumulative effect and does not appear from the first day from the start of treatment, and if the patient’s health and life are in serious danger, it is better to immediately start drug therapy or prescribe an appropriate operation, physiotherapy or medical measures.

A doctor-phytotherapist can work with people with oncology, but there is no guarantee that such treatment will give a positive result. However, qualified oncologists do not give such a guarantee, since cancer is insidious, in part, precisely because of its tendency to relapse.

In what cases and with what symptoms you need to visit a phytotherapeutist

Adults come to this specialist, parents bring children with a variety of manifestations that differ from the normal state of the body. You can make an appointment with a phytotherapist if you suffer from any ailment, or in cases where various seasonal epidemics and outbreaks of viral diseases are approaching, in order to get a referral from a doctor for taking herbal preparations and remedies for preventive purposes.

Common complaints that are often voiced at an appointment with a phytotherapist:

• general deterioration of health, weakness, increased fatigue, drowsiness, dizziness, coordination disorders, periodic loss of consciousness, headaches;
• colds, runny nose, chronic nasal congestion, tendency to tonsillitis, respiratory viral diseases;
• pain in the eyes, increased tearing, photophobia;
• dry and wet cough, sore throat and sore throat;
• fever, signs of fever;
• painful symptoms in the muscles, limbs, in certain parts of the body;
• frequent and painful urination, change in color and consistency of urine;
• pain in the joints, the appearance of swelling and redness around them;
• digestive disorders, intestinal disorders.

Diagnosis and treatment

Basically, this doctor sees patients in his own office or private clinics. The consultation begins with a survey – the doctor finds out exactly what sensations and symptoms led the person to him. If the patient has up-to-date test results and laboratory tests on hand, they should be taken with you.

In addition to the survey, the doctor conducts an external examination to visually assess the condition of the skin, mucous membranes, eyes, he feels the abdomen, listens to the work of the heart and lungs.

In some cases, such a superficial study of the patient is enough to make a diagnosis, but often the doctor sends him for additional tests:

• general analysis of blood, urine and feces;
• coagulograms;
• total protein;
• urea and creatinine;
• bilirubin;
• allergy tests.

From physiological examinations, you may need to undergo:

• Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, small pelvis;
• electrocardiography;
• fibrogastroduodenoscopy;
• colonoscopy;
• computed tomography of specific organs.

Also, the doctor may recommend to be examined by other specialists: endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, neurologist.

The next step is the appointment of a treatment regimen. The phytotherapist uses exclusively the developments of medicine in the field of herbal medicines. He does not prescribe treatment, which is surgery, physiotherapy or taking medications with substances of synthetic origin in the composition.

Ideally, the selection of medicinal herbs and preparations from them is carried out individually for each person. Some herbalists, having studied the problem of their patient, collect plants and prepare medicines from them specifically for his needs, while others have in their stocks an arsenal of ready-made remedies for the most common cases. At the same time, all medicinal plants can be divided into several groups, depending on their methods of application. The first includes officially recognized medicinal herbs from which medical preparations are prepared: tablets, ointments, tinctures (for example, calendula, chamomile, purple echinacea, spotted milk thistle). The second group is food plants that also have a medicinal effect, for example, dill. In the third group, plants and herbs, used mainly in traditional medicine, have proven themselves to be safe and effective remedies against certain ailments. These include, for example, chicory.

The doctor prepares all these types of plants in dried or fresh form, then to prescribe to patients in the form of tinctures, preparations, ointments, capsules, for external or internal use.

Usually, taking medications does not cause a deterioration in general well-being in the patient. If suddenly the patient began to be disturbed by allergic reactions, it is necessary to urgently stop treatment and consult with a phytotherapeutist – it will probably be necessary to choose a different treatment regimen. Short-term appearance of drowsiness, general weakness and malaise is allowed shortly after the start of the use of medicinal herbal remedies, but these sensations quickly pass. Otherwise, you need to consult a doctor.

An important role in the treatment process is played by the order of receiving the prescribed funds. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the prescribed scheme, take medicines at about the same time. Most of these drugs should be taken before meals.

Recommendations of a phytotherapeutist

As in other cases, when it comes to the presence of disorders and diseases in a person, self-medication is unacceptable. Phytotherapists focus on the fact that self-harvesting, as well as the use of medicinal herbs, can result, at best, in an allergy. The place and time of collection play an important role in whether the harvested plant will benefit a person. Collecting herbs in ecologically and radiation-unfavorable areas is strongly discouraged.

Courses of treatment with herbal preparations usually require periodic intervals between courses, lasting about 2-3 weeks.

In case of acute ailments, one should not resort to herbs and herbal medicine – here therapists and specific narrow specialists should take up the matter.

A phytotherapist is considered a representative of alternative, traditional medicine, to which people come, most often, in extreme cases, when the attending physicians cannot cope with the disease. In the presence of acute lesions of the body, of course, one should not rely on herbal treatment, but a phytotherapeutist may well deal with chronic diseases that prevent a person from living a full life. Its competence includes disorders and disorders in the work of the whole organism in the complex, as well as specific organs and systems. The doctor also prescribes preventive schemes for taking herbal remedies for general strengthening of the body and increasing its resistance.