In severe pancreatitis, however, activated enzymes may travel back into the pancreas and digest it. We will talk more about pancreatitis in a little bit, but for now, consider alcohol. Regular consumption of alcohol inflames the pancreas. When the inflammation is severe, the smaller ducts of the pancreas are squeezed shut.
Any therapy that is typically excluded by conventional medicine, and that patients use instead of conventional medicine, is known as âalternative medicine.â Itâs a catch-all term that includes hundreds of old and new practices ranging from acupuncture to homeopathy to iridology.
Complementary medicine is treatments that are used along with standard medical treatments but are not considered to be standard treatments. One example is using acupuncture to help lessen some side effects of cancer treatment. Alternative medicine is treatments that are used instead of standard medical treatments. One example is using a special diet to treat cancer instead of anticancer drugs that are prescribed by an oncologist.