Recently a young mother expressed to me how she was concerned about the media reports from the US on the dangers of acetaminophen. The FDA was calling for new warning labels and reduced dosage for common over-the-counter medications like Tylenol and Excedrin because of renewed concerns over liver damage and gastric bleeding. She said: “I understand the risk, but I don’t know what else to do when my child runs a fever.” Her concerns, which I’m sure are shared by thousands of parents just like her, represent a common misunderstanding of the basic fundamentals of health and healing.
Essentially, there are two perspectives on healing. One is mechanistic—it defines life as a random series of events, devoid of an organized and intelligent purpose. Sickness is deemed to be the enemy, symptoms are to be eliminated at all costs, and the body requires outside help (medication) to help it heal.
The other is vitalistic. It recognizes that symptoms are a natural response to illness and trusts in the inherent recuperative ability of the body. The same natural processes that once brought sperm and egg together and run trillions of chemical and biological functions in your body everyday are capable of healing and repairing you. Chiropractors and other natural healthcare practitioners have always embraced this concept.
Yet, many of our allopathic healthcare practices are still centered on a mechanistic principle: The body is viewed as a series of parts that require specialists for each system. Parents are taught to fear fevers, germs and the environment, and we are led to believe that we require a pharmaceutical intervention every time we experience fevers, pain, coughs, sniffles etc.
If the young mother I spoke to earlier had a better understanding of how the body works and the vitalistic perspective, fevers would be seen as a natural response to infection and beneficial as they slowly raise the body’s core temperature to burn off bacteria and viruses. Pain is seen as a natural signal from the brain that warns us to stop our harmful behavior. Coughs and sneezes are seen as powerful ways the body expels germs and other matter from breathing passages. These are natural reactions that should rarely be contained artificially.
Vitalism is about living life without fear. Its about trusting in your body’s ability to heal and doing everything you can to promote proper heath and healing: taking care of your body, eating well, exercising, reducing toxicity, maintaining healthy relationships and a positive mental attitude. These are time-tested methods that have been proven to be safe and effective, which is more that I can say for Tylenol.
