Modern and Alternative Health Care Paractices and the Amish Culture

The continuous evolution of today's modern health care has effectively sequestered the very rural, very traditional and very religious community that is the Amish. Modern health care focuses on the scientific cause rather than the patient. Due to this fact the Amish practice their own method of medical treatment; naturalistic homeopathy. The Amish religion states that the human body is merely a creation by God. They believe that God created the earth, therefore they will only use and/or consume substances of the earth. Basic principle; God will not allow ailments without providing a means to overcome them.

Naturalistic homeopathy is an alternative method of medical care that emphasizes the use of natural herbs, liquids and mind-body association. For example, if an Amish mothers' child is stricken with croup, the woman will boil a pot full of vinegar and then hold the child over the steam to cleans and purify the body. The Amish are of strict confidence that the body can and will heal itself. While many traditional medicines may help, they feel that unprocessed natural supplements, on the whole, have a much more powerful effect. However, they strictly use ingestion and topical forms of application. Even though the Amish feel that naturalistic homeopathy helps in the treatment and prevention of illness and disease, the fate of the final healing process within the body lies ultimately in the hands of the great creator.

The human body is merely a creation. The Amish believe that God will not riddle them with disease without first providing a cure. Whether it is physically or spiritually among the community, the Amish believe that a cure is always present. For example, an Amish man diagnosed with cancer suddenly goes into remission; they believe that a spiritual connection among the Amish community through prayer is the cause. On the rare occasion that the need for a modern medical doctor arises, they select doctors based on their ability to show compassion and a genuine personal interest in the patients' life. However, the delivery of these services remains constant no matter the condition. They provide their own free health care for all citizens within the community. But it is God who, in the end, delivers the final service; life or death.

Whether the Amish administer self-treatment or rely on divine treatment, the delivery outcome will always be the same; spiritual treatments with a body conscious physical cure. God inflicts disease and illness upon the Amish, they rely on God to intervene, and then use natural homeopathic methods to stimulate and jump start the healing process. Lastly, they let the body heal itself from the inside out; a perfect cultural symbiotic circle among religion and personal beliefs.

References

Andrews, M. (2002). Transcultural concepts in nursing care [pp. 426-453]. (Scanned copies of original published work), Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=Tq-rL8VcQBQC&pg=PA455&lpg=PA455&dq=abortion+amish&source=web&ots=bNuZh0TJLU&sig=iNvLbTsuyFfhqMI1_1ebdPDbbxQ

Kraybill, D. (2010). Amish (HTML Version), Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/A-Br/Amish.html

Huntington, G. (2003). The Amish and the state [2nd Ed., pp. 163-185]. (Scanned copies of original published work), Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_9WTtr8EL74C&oi=fnd&pg=PA163&dq=Amish+health+care&ots=hmoolDfk8m&sig=oL7FSC8JwXUxqKwz_SRSDhJWyaU#v=onepage&q=Amish%20health%20care&f=false