Unnecessary Idiopathicity

Among the perplexing paradoxes that exist in healthcare is coexistence of our adoration of allopathy for its “scientific method” along with the description of most chronic diseases as “idiopathic.” If the allopathic use of the scientific method were so adroit, then why are so many conditions described as having “no known cause”? Is the scientific method inadequate, or is the allopathic lens incapable of bringing disease causation into focus? Perhaps a third option exists: that some groups—namely the medical profession generally and the pharmaceutical companies specifically—benefit by convincing us that most diseases have “no known cause” and that therefore the best that doctors and patients can hope for is additive and endless pharmaceuticalization of all health problems. When the cause of our health problems is “unknown”, we are disempowered, and we must depend on “experts” and those who have "the cure" to help us and save us. When the causes of our problems are known, we are empowered to take effective action. Certainly, some groups have financial and political interests in keeping us as professionals and as patients confused and disempowered.

The remainder of this article, slightly updated from the original, is located here: http://www.ichnfm.org/#!blank/rcfmy and is also reprinted in several recent books, including Inflammation Mastery, 4th Edition.