Read here which common treatment methods there are, what you can do yourself and when you should definitely consult a doctor. For whom is which therapy suitable, how does it work, what do you need to consider in the preparation and what are the risks and side effects?
Therapies: Definition
In general, therapy means the treatment of a disease. The term summarizes
all procedures together, alleviate or cure disabilities, diseases or injuries. A prerequisite for medical treatment is a prior diagnosis in which a physician has identified a disease. An important component of most therapies is trusting communication between doctor and patient.
Doctors usually treat with therapies whose Effectiveness verified by scientific methods and which are recognized by the medical profession. This is also referred to as evidence-based medicine (EbM).
Therapy goals
Therapy goals can vary widely. They usually depend on the disease and the individual needs and personality of the patient. The most common are:
Causal therapy: eliminate the cause of the disease
Symptomatic therapy: eliminate existing symptoms without considering the cause
Curative therapy: Cure a disease by eliminating its causes and symptoms
Supportive therapy: Supports another treatment, for example, by relieving or curing accompanying symptoms
Preventive therapy: prevents diseases, for example vaccinations or prenatal care
Palliative therapy: Aims to relieve symptoms such as pain in far-advanced, usually incurable diseases, or to reduce other negative consequences (palliation). To improve the patient's quality of life. If possible, a prolongation of life can be achieved. Palliative treatment measures are usually used when all curative treatment options for a disease have been unsuccessful. Doctors then also say that the patient is out of treatment.
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therapies: Forms
Physicians generally divide therapies into surgical and conservative treatments.
Surgical therapies
A
surgical therapy is a surgical procedure. Here, the aim is to treat a disease by penetrating the body, which medical professionals call "invasive". The following postoperative Therapy be necessary to support wound healing or to alleviate pain. Operations are performed not only in surgery, but also in other medical disciplines, such as gynecology or ophthalmology.
The Plastic surgery is a Subfield of surgery. Its focus is to restore functions or altered appearance, especially of the skin, with the goal of improving or restoring a patient's positive attitude toward life.
Doctors distinguish between four major areas of plastic surgery:
Aesthetic surgery: It involves shape-changing procedures, usually without medical necessity and motivated by the patient's desire to correct his or her appearance
Reconstructive surgery: Also called reconstructive surgery, it restores tie form and function after injury, disease or tumor surgery.
Hand surgery: It includes the complicated structure of the hand, as well as the entire arm, because muscles and tendons, nerves and blood vessels run here and lead to the hand.
Burn Surgery: It deals with the acute and intensive treatment of burns and their consequences. Reconstructive surgery is also often used here.
Wherever possible in surgery, gentle, minimally invasive procedures with as little scarring as possible are used.
Conservative therapies:
Conservative therapies cure a disease without surgical intervention. They are usually gentler. In addition to other specialists, surgeons also treat their patients with conservative methods.
These include:
– drug therapies – physical therapies, such as exercise therapies or light therapy – dietary therapies, which means the patient changes his or her diet
Conservative treatments and surgery can also complement each other, which is the case, for example, in cancer therapy.
Therapies for mental illnesses: Psychotherapies
When someone no longer feels mentally and spiritually well and is no longer able to cope with stress and strain in life, this is referred to as a mental illness. As a rule, the patient is no longer able to cope with everyday life. Without a healthy psyche a person can not be properly efficient. However, most of us are between mentally healthy and ill. Total mental health does not exist.
Psychotherapy therefore means "treatment of the soul. The goal of psychotherapy is to heal mental illnesses as well as possible or to alleviate the symptoms. Psychotherapies may only be conducted by psychological psychotherapists, child and adolescent psychotherapists or specialists in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
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Psychotherapies can temporally subdivided are divided into:
Short-term therapies: It is carried out over a short, limited period of time. This is not firmly defined. Depending on the corresponding therapy method. As a rule, experts speak of short-term therapy when it consists of a maximum of 25 individual therapy hours or extends over a maximum period of six months.
long-term therapy: Psychotherapists treat over a longer period of time. Here, too, the time span is not firmly defined. Also depending on the corresponding therapy method. It can range from one to several years or include at least 50 sessions.
long-term therapy: This form of treatment is permanent, i.e. designed for the entire lifetime of a patient. Experts often also use the term as a synonym for long-term therapy.
Psychotherapy is carried out in different forms, for example as Individual or group therapy. Patient at the center of therapy. The doctor's attention is focused on him alone. The procedure depends on the disease, the therapeutic concept and the individual concerns of the patient.
Group therapies take place in very different group sizes. Psychotherapists often use this form of therapy for depression, burnout, life crises or anxiety disorders. Therapists pay attention to disease-specific patient information when putting together groups, in order to take into account not only diagnoses but also other characteristics of the patients. Participants with similar problems or symptoms can easily exchange ideas and experiences. From people in a similar situation they feel understood and get practical tips. Optimally, participants even develop and try out solutions together.
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