Background: Alternative (traditional, folk) methods of treatment are classified as unconventional methods of treatment and are considered the oldest medicine in the world. The very word alternative, or the substitution speaks in favor of the fact that traditional medicine offers everything that biomedicine only in a different form, which implies elaborate diagnostics, prevention and cure. Objective: The aim of this paper is to present the alternative methods of healing in ancient civilizations and to present the importance of the influence of different civilizations and cultures on pharmacy trough the most important written works, documents, and legal procedures. Methods: This is retrospective and descriptive method in order to obtain data on a given topic, the following was conducted and exploration of scientific literature and scientific databases. Results and Discussion: Traditional Chinese medicine, in addition to religion, treatment is based on the use of a large number of herbal remedies, acupuncture, dietary treatment and tuina massages. In ancient India, specific drugs and surgical techniques were used in therapy only in combination with appropriate rituals. The therapy focused on dietetics, in which milk, meat, and herbal medicines took the main place. They also used bloodletting, leeches, inhalation, pulverization, ointment and steaming. Assyrian-Babylonian medicine is a mixture of folk and religious experience and mysticism. It rested on the belief that life on earth was created by celestial deities, represented by celestial bodies, and that they bestow health and disease on people through good and evil spirits on earth. They used herbal, animal and mineral drugs in their treatment, and they were also familiar with surgery. Medicine and pharmacy of the ancient Jews of Israel, due to their religious character, were mostly in the hands of priests. The focus of Jewish medicine is hygienic-prophylactic measures, and very little therapy. Herbal drugs and ointments were most often used in treatment. Ancient Egyptian medicine had two aspects: medical and magical. Magical: speaks primarily of diseases that were believed to be caused by the gods, and medically includes the use of drugs of plant, animal and mineral origin. They were excellent connoisseurs of human anatomy and surgery. Conclusion: A common feature of all forms of ancient medicine is the supernatural orientation, for example, belief in magic, deities and supernatural forces, as well as the influence of empiricism, or experiences (so-called magic-theurgical medicine).
Key words: traditional healing, ancient civilizations, alternative medicine
|
