With the advent of new and fast effecting drugs, the side effects related to these have also increased.
Prolonged use of such medicines can result in a long lasting damage to an individual's general health.
Therefore the need for effective but healthier drugs has been the demand all over the world by people suffering from diseases.
This has led to the revival of the alternative methods of treating sicknesses and the science that deals with this is called Alternative Medicine.
Alternative Medicine aims at providing a healthier substitute to the conventional drugs and techniques used for treatment purposes.
It promotes use of natural sources to develop remedies.
This results in a less harmful but efficient recovery process.
Alternative Medicine includes a class of healing techniques called the biologically based therapies.
This range of therapies use substances found in nature, such as: botanicals, vitamins, minerals, fatty acid and functional foods.
Two very unique therapies found under this classification are Apitherapy and Ichthyotherapy.
Apitherapy Honey Bees are responsible for the production of many products which can be used for medicinal purposes.
We only know about one product which is the famous Honey.
The therapy which uses honey bee products for healing of ailments is called Apitherapy.
This can include the use of honey, royal jelly, pollen, and bee venom.
In Apitherapy, either live bees are made to sting the patient as acupuncture in order to allow the bee venom to directly heal the illness or the venom is administered through injections.
It is studied that bee venom has some kind of anti inflammatory agents that relieves swelling and pain.
This can be used to treat arthritis, migraine headaches, multiple sclerosis and various skin conditions.
Honey contains B complex vitamins and minerals.
Studies also show that it contains antifungal, antibacterial and anti-tumor properties.
Bee pollen also is said to contain many nutrients needed by the body.
Bee pollen contains 7 times more proteins than beef.
Usually bee pollen which is found in pieces of the honeycomb is good for treating allergies.
Even ingesting Bee pollen can also increases sexual energy.
Royal jelly is creamy substance produced by the worker bee.
Royal jelly is loaded with B vitamins.
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter which is found in the brain, spinal cord and areas of the nervous system.
The only other place where this substance is found is the bee hive.
It regulates memory and enhances cognitive function.
It is also needed to transmit messages fro cell to cell.
During an Apitherapy session, patients are given pills, powders or injections over a period of time for treatment.
Applying raw honey, directly onto burns acts as painkiller and antiseptic.
Ichthyotherapy Ichthyotherapy is the use of fresh water fish or marine organisms as agents for healing skin conditions.
A special kind of fish called the Kangal Fish or the 'Doctor Fish' is employed here.
The fish is allowed to nibble the skin of the patient at the affected areas.
The fish efficiently eats away all the fungi and bacteria present on the skin.
This method is very useful in cleaning and scaling of the skin which makes the skin fresh and free from germs.
Ichthyotherapy is also used for the treatment of psoriasis and other skin disorders.
The Kangal fish only eats the rotten flesh and in this way carries out a detailed healing procedure of the skin.
In a session of Ichthyotherapy, the patient is made to step into a pool of water containing hundreds of Kangal Fish.
The patient feels a slightly ticklish sensation as the fish start nibbling at the skin.
This also stimulates the nerve endings at the skins surface.
This process can be done over a period of few months to achieve complete healing of the ailment.