If you’ve been interacting with other people in person or online, chances are you’ve heard about natural remedies. They’ve become so popular in recent years that, even if you haven’t tried essential oils, tinctures, CBD oil, or other essential remedies, you know someone who has.
Natural remedy users have an array of reasons for turning towards them, such as saving on the cost of prescriptions, supporting medication and other treatments from their healthcare provider, or to promote mental clarity and other wellness goals. Whatever the reasoning, each natural remedy aficionado is part of an ever-growing group taking advantage of these pharmacy-free treatments for everyday conditions and ailments.
Historical & Cultural Precedent
Throughout history, and long before modern medicine took center stage, people around the world have utilized natural treatments to soothe specific ailments or promote general wellness. For thousands of years, natural treatments have been passed along family lines and through generations. Ancestral ties on a wider level create another common reason to opt for natural options. While brands like Zen Panda have made kratom available commercially, these leaves have been used by Southeast Asian cultures to increase energy, reduce fatigue, and treat pain. Due to their modern popularity, long-cherished remedies like kratom have undergone a contemporary makeover, available in tinctures, capsules, powders, and other simplified forms.
Cost
If you’ve ever been through the aisles of your local health food store or browsed your friend’s essential oil offerings, you know that natural remedies don’t always come cheap. But, more often than not, even the most expensive varieties of CBD, herbs, and other alternative treatments can be cheaper than the prescription your healthcare provider gives you or sends to your neighborhood pharmacy.
No insurance plan can ensure coverage or reimbursement eligibility for every medication and, even when your prescription is covered, your copay or out-of-pocket cost can still be extravagant. A prescription coupon, savings card, or other discounts can help you afford your prescribed medication. In many cases, if your prescription doesn’t qualify for a coupon or discount, natural options like cannabis extract or common spices like black pepper or turmeric can give you relief from many common symptoms.
Sense of Control
Without a coupon or other discount, you can’t control your out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy. And, for most conditions, you can’t control your health concerns. But one thing you can control is the natural “medications” you try to ease your symptoms. For many people, this sense of control is a top reason to try alternative treatments. Whether you’re using THC-free CBD oil to ease the pain in your joints or trying to calm your hives with basil, using a powerful plant or other homeopathic remedy gives you the chance to control at least a part of your health plan.
Variety
For many traditional medications, you’re constrained to a few varieties when it comes to finding the best dose, format, or specific prescription for you—much less one that works and that your insurance covers. Homeopathic treatment options are wide-ranging, with options in every form, dose, and variety you can imagine. Promote restful sleep by diffusing lavender essential oil or take CBD oil for relaxing sore muscles.
Or, move your lavender into a rollerball and browse The Root of It All for CBD topicals. Natural treatments are versatile in terms of what you can take and how you take it. And, if one variety doesn’t provide the results you seek, you have plenty of options for another, without calling your doctor in hopes of a valid prescription or battling the insurance company over a new brand’s eligibility.
Extra “Oomph”
Many people who utilize natural remedies don’t do so as their sole treatment regimen. In many cases, patients turn to options like CBD or essential oils in addition to those that their healthcare provider prescribes. In these cases, users are hoping for a higher chance of relief from whatever ails them. By adding these alternatives to their existing prescription drug plan, patients can improve their health and wellness. Best of all, they’re working in conjunction with their healthcare provider to ensure that their treatments—both those available at your local pharmacy and those that aren’t—can work together safely. Together, you not only have a higher chance of successful treatment—you might find the perfect combination your body needs to heal.
Convenience
These options aren’t only familiar through generations of your family or traditionally in your ancestral country. Many natural treatments can be found in the average kitchen, like ginger, rosemary, clove, and black pepper. With these, you aren’t only easing your sore throat or joint pain without a journey to the pharmacy—you’re treating your symptoms without even leaving your home. When you want to try a new natural remedy, you don’t need to schedule or attend a doctor’s appointment. At the very most, you might have to visit the grocery store or another local market for valerian root, CBD edibles, or your treatment of choice.
Comfort
Natural treatments are convenient but, more importantly for many you turn to them, these are ingredients that patients recognize, unlike many staples of Western medicine. In the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves over-the-counter and prescription medicines through a rigorous process. But, for some people, that isn’t reason enough to try those more conventional treatments. Unpronounceable chemicals, animal testing, and synthetic compounds used in many prescription medications deter those who prefer a more natural lifestyle. Those free-spirited individuals will likely be more comfortable with a naturally occurring remedy when treating ailments.
Backup Plans
In some cases, a patient doesn’t turn to natural remedies as the first line of defense against sickness. or other health concerns. Instead, they trust in more conventional methods of treatment, looking to cold medicine for their sniffles or painkiller for their aching back. but sometimes even the most heavily tested, well-reviewed, and highly recommended medicines don’t work as effectively as the patient or their healthcare provider hoped.
Patients may find that they’ve exhausted standard treatments to no avail or with minimal improvement at best. In those cases, patients may feel desperate for an alternative treatment plan or, simply, a new spark of hope. Natural treatment options can offer just that. Some users swear by natural options as more effective, or even miraculous—and, while miracles can’t be proved, a particularly powerful plant or another homeopathic remedy can soothe symptoms and allow users to feel more confident in their treatment, even amidst past disappointments.
Whether it’s calming a runny nose or easing nausea, it’s no surprise that so many people turn to natural options. When it comes to treating everyday conditions, if you cannot obtain a discount on a product or medication, your healthcare provider recommends, alternatives found naturally can help you find relief.
Or, if you’re not receiving the improvement you seek from prescription medication, topical ointments, tinctures, or other natural options can be important additions to your treatment plan. Whatever your reason to try natural remedies, talk to your healthcare provider to make sure your remedy of choice is safe for any conditions or existing prescriptions you’re dealing with. And, knowing they’re safe to take, you’ll be ready to tackle whatever is bothering you with treatments that have been making a difference in people’s life and health for thousands of years.
