Folk medicine is generally defined as traditional medicine that is practiced by nonprofessional healers or embodied in local custom or lore, generally involving the use of natural and especially herbal remedies.
Folk medicine is the method by which human beings have been trying to eliminate pain and promote good health since the beginning of time. Folk medicine attempts to solve or lessen both physical and mental ailments by focusing on harmony and balance within the body. Those who practice folk medicine believe in using any resource available to heal a patient. Many of the methods used in folk medicine are ones that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Folk medicine is classified by the world of modern medicine into four categories: the patient world, the natural world, the social world, and the supernatural world. The patient world focuses on lifestyle disorders such as diet, smoking and drinking. The natural world looks at illnesses caused by environmental factors and viruses. The social world considers the illnesses seemingly caused by interpersonal conflicts. Last, but not least, the supernatural world includes illnesses caused by sinful behavior or simply behavior that is outside proper or accepted boundaries.
Folk illnesses, those that are shaped by the ethnic groups from which they come, are not recognized by modern medicine. An folk illness can be seen inside of a cultural group specifically. For example, in Pennsylvania Germans, a folk illness called liver grown is prevalent. It is thought that when the liver attaches to the ribs or some other body cavity, liver grown occurs. Supposedly, it is more common among children and the cause of it is being exposed to a strong wind, staying outside too long or from being unduly shaken during travel. Folk medicine practitioners would treat the child by stretching the child’s arms and legs behind them in an attempt to loosen the liver. Other treatments might include passing them through a bramble bush or a warm horse collar.
Folk medicine practitioners are known by many names, including herbalist, shaman, native healer, and medicine man, to name a few. They use a number of methods to treat illnesses. Within the cultures who utilize folk medicine, this ‘practitioner’ would be the first to be consulted regarding physical or mental problems. Treatments are specific to a particular ailment and may include the power of prayer, dancing, sweat baths, massage, medicinal herbs, hot and cold foods or other means not practiced in modern medicine.
Home remedies are practiced by many people which focus on treating coughs, depression, sunburn, fever, insomnia, bed-wetting, bites and stings and gum disease. Just like folk medicine, these remedies have been passed down through the generations, usually from parent to child. An example of a home remedy would be to use aloe vera to treat a burn instead of using an over-the-counter topical cream to treat a burn. Yeast infections are reduced by the patient eating live-culture yogurt.
Some animals are thought to have healing properties, such as earthworms, eels, snakes and toads. A folk medicine practitioner might use fresh muskrat skin to prevent a cold or prescribe a mole tooth to be worn around a patient’s neck to prevent a toothache.
Modern medicine professionals and folk medicine practitioners are working together more often to treat patients. They simply need to respect each other and keep the patient’s best interest as their focus.
