How did Hippocrates define health and illness? What treatments did he prescribe for helping his patients regain health?
Hippocrates was a Greek physician, who first successfully liberated medicine from supernatural beliefs. According to him, health refers to a perfect balance among four humors of the body. The term 'humor' refers to body fluids given below:
i. Blood is the fluid that transports oxygen throughout our body.
ii. Phlegm is the clear plasma or the liquid part of the blood.
iii. Yellow bile is the juice secreted in liver for digestion.
iv. Black bile is the remains of the dead cells and clotting factors.
Illness refers to malfunctioning of brain as brain is associated with what we think, see and feel. It dictates us to distinguish between good and bad. When brain becomes dry, cold, moist or hot, abnormalities develop leading to mental illnesses.
Hippocrates' approach of treatment was that if humors are in right proportions and proper diet is taken, illness does not occur. Nowadays, doctors use the term 'neurotransmitters' to refer to imbalance in chemicals in our nervous system. Hippocrates' treatment also involved mild massages, getting fresh air and bath with proper intake of food.