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.
Many Americans use medical treatments that are not part of mainstream medicine. When you are using these types of care, it may be called complementary, integrative, or alternative medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with mainstream medical care. An example is using acupuncture to help with side effects of cancer treatment. When health care providers and facilities offer both types of care, it is called integrative medicine. Alternative medicine is used instead of mainstream medical care. The claims that non-mainstream practitioners make can sound promising. However, researchers do not know how safe many of these treatments are or how well they work.