Alternative health care is a holistic way of caring for our body, mind and spirit. It is called alternative because it offers a way of caring for our health that is not conventional or what we are used to in the Western world. In the Western world caring for our health is done mostly by the administration of medicines, many of which are synthetic, produced from sources which are derivatives of nature, not natural in the direct sense. A simple example will make this clear.Most of us in the older bracket of age are familiar with aspirin. I remember when I was a child, if I had a headache my father gave me aspirin to drink. When I had a fever, he would give me also aspirin. Aspirin is a drug in conventional medicine. Aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid. It is a synthetic drug, meaning, it is a drug synthesized from certain acids, principally salicylic acid. The natural source for this is the willow bark. But the willow bark itself is not used, only a derivative from this, the salicylic acid.In alternative health care we do not administer aspirin. The person who has a headache may just need rest. So, we tell him to rest. If he has fever, this may be a result of something that he has eaten. So we tell him to drink plenty of water to clean out what he has eaten.Secondly this alternative health care is holistic. It does not deal with the body only, but also with the mind or soul, and the spirit. In conventional health care people think that sickness is a physical condition. So the sick person needs a material medicine to cure his physical condition. He feels pain in his joints, so he is diagnosed to have flu. And he is given a medicine to counteract this flu, usually an analgesic, any synthetic drug which relieves pain.In alternative health care we do not just look at the body, but we also inquire into the mind of the patient and consider his or her level of spirituality. We do not just take care of the sickness when it strikes already but we also take precaution that it does not strike at all. When a person experiences headache we ask that person whether he has current anxieties and worries, whether his or her religious belief is strong enough in a God who cares and who can be depended upon at all times.Actually we had alternative health care from the beginning of our race, since there were no synthetic drugs then. But with the advent of these drugs we gradually forgot alternative health care in favor of conventional medicine. One reason was that conventional medicine was fast and predictable. You do not have to search for the herb and boil it and make a concoction out of it. You just go to the drugstore, present the prescription your doctor gave you, receive the medicine from the pharmacist or his/her aide and pay for it. Upon reaching home, you just take the medicine. It is so convenient.But the recent experience of people taking conventional drugs is that they may lead to dependence on these drugs and larger doses may be required upon subsequent intakes. Furthermore there are bad effects in taking these drugs. These happen especially with antibiotic drugs. So people began to look for alternative ways of healing, one that is not heavily dependent on synthetic drugs and one that heals body, soul and spirit so that the person really become whole.Some of the methods of alternative health care may be enumerated thus:1. Rest2. Water Therapy3. Pranic Healing4. Hypnosis5. Acupuncture and acupressure6. Herbs7. Magnetic Therapy8. Chiropractic medicine9. Reflexology10. Biofeedback11. Dieting12. Massage therapy13. Aromatherapy14. Carmenbees Synchrotheraphy15. Mind healing16. Spiritual healing

There is an ever increasing need for professionals in the home health care industry. If you are considering a career path, or have decided you want to make a career change, you will find a variety of positions that fall under the home health care tag. This has been marked as an industry that is expected to grow significantly in the next few years.Although the majority of home health care positions involve services for our geriatric community, there are also positions available to provide for younger patients that are ill or disabled. The needs are great in this industry; however, the variety of positions available may not be as diverse. This job field does offer a variety of rewards in that the services you offer improve the quality of life for those that require the services.If you are more management minded and want to make a difference, you could consider a career as a placement agent or account manager. A job such as this will place you in the interview phase of the home health care process. You will meet with the family or the client and assess their needs and help create a plan of action that will provide the best options for the care needed.If you prefer to work directly with the patient, you could consider becoming a home health aide. This job will allow you to interact directly with the patient. This is a good position for someone that wants to see the immediate rewards of the efforts they put into their job. You can work directly for the patient, or their family, or you can work through an agency that will place you with a patient.There are several types of positions in most home health care agencies, but the two most common are Personal Care Aide (PCA) or a Home Health Aide (HHA). Both of these positions require specific training and supervision by a Registered Nurse. Although both positions are similar, there are some differences between the two.A Personal Care Aide gives the patient help with the activities required for daily living. They may help bathe the patient and help them with walking and exercise. They are also trained to assist with toileting, and transfers with mechanical lifts. A PCA will often be employed to assist with cleaning, running errand, and providing meals.A Home Health Aide provided all the nonprofessional nursing services listed above. They can provide all the same services as a PCA, but a HHA is additionally trained in other areas. They often provide services such as recording fluid intake, or taking the vital signs of the patients. They may also provide assistance with bandage changes and are trained to recognize signs of infection.This industry is one that provides the benefit of a career that leaves you feeling like you have made a difference at the end of the day. Although the home health care industry may not provide a lot of flexibility in positions, it does provide an ample supply of job opportunities because of our aging population.