Timeless treatments
Modernised Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Published: 28/01/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Mylife
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the highest ranking choice of alternative medicine, ahead of homeopathy, ayurvedic, chiropractic and unani.
TCM has its own history which can be traced back 3,000 years. It is the second most ancient medicine, while ayurvedic is the oldest with 5,000 years of history.
In the past, when people thought about TCM, they imagined a long-bearded doctor doing pulse diagnosis and prescribing foul tasting concoctions. It was difficult for a modern person to take the image seriously
But today, Chinese herbs can be administered in far more palatable ways - in powders, medicated liquors, teas, granules, tablets, syrups, crystallised herbal extracts or even injected.
In China today there are hundreds of patented ready-to-use drugs which can be bought over the counter under supervision of pharmacists. And it is fascinating to realise these drugs were described in TCM text books 2,000 years ago.
TCM has its own theory very different from Western medicine. While Western medicine focuses on physical and chemical bases, TCM is philosophical.
Man and Cosmos are unified, is the basic philosophy of TCM. Whenever we and nature are in balance, we are healthy. Being unbalanced leads to disease.
Our body has yin and yang compositions. It is also vitalised by the movement of qi and blood. Yin and yang should be balanced. Yang excess or yin deficiency may cause a hot feeling.
On the other hand, yin excess or yang deficiency may cause a cold feeling.
Deficiency of qi and blood may also cause some specific symptoms.
Chinese doctors usually observe the patient's five senses, along with a pulse and tongue diagnosis.
They will then differentiate illnesses into two groups. One is a deficiency of qi, yin, yang and blood. The second is an excess syndrome which comprises blood congestion, qi congestion and accumulation of heat and dampness.
Each syndrome has its own character. They are not so difficult to differentiate if a health-oriented person pays close attention to self-observation. He could do the diagnosis himself.
Qi deficiency leads to sweating, catching colds or developing allergies, a lack of energy, heaviness of the body and limbs, a low appetite, swollen extremities and loose stools. The tongue will be quite pale with tooth marks on the side.
Yang deficiency leads to a cold sensation, cold extremities, frequent urination, loose stools, a pale face, an urge to take hot drinks and infertility. The tongue is very pale or even light purple with more tooth marks.
People who suffer a prolonged illness usually pass from the stage of qi deficiency into a stage of yang deficiency.
A large number of people who are diagnosed as having so-called chronic fatigue or "syndrome X" in the West show these types of symptoms.
Yin deficiency leads to a hot feverish sensation, hot "five-hearts area" (palms, soles, forehead), a dry throat and thirst, an urge to drink cold water, less urine, excessive dreams, constipation, and back and knee pain. The tongue is red and dry, with no coating. This is called ron nai in Thai, which means "internal hotness".
Blood deficiency leads to dizziness, forgetfulness, heart disease, menstrual irregularity, numbness in the extremities, chronic fatigue and a pale face and lips. The tongue is pale and thin. Usually, blood deficiency doesn't come alone. It is usually accompanied by some other deficiency. Late-stage cancer patients usually display these symptoms.
Now we come to the three excess syndromes.
Qi stagnation leads to chest tightness, difficult breathing, pain along the ribs, breast pain and bloating. The tongue is light red with spots. Qi stagnation is a common syndrome among businessmen as they are full of rage.
Blood stagnation has a very wide range of symptoms such as menstrual pain and irregularity, liver disease, respiratory disease, heart disease, digestive disease etc. The face is dark, with blue or purple lips and face. The tongue is dark with a thin coating.
Heat and dampness retention leads to heaviness of body, loss of appetite, heaviness of head, sleep disorders, digestive disorders, itching skin and deep yellow urine.
The tongue is typically red, with a thick yellow or white coat. We find these symptoms in acute problems like catching cold, flu or any other viral or bacterial infection.
Modern Chinese medicine firms have patented traditional drugs for common use.
Drugs like Lingzhi spore capsules enhance immunity and have anti-cancer and anti-infection properties which detoxify and protect the liver.
Gu Han promotes spleen, kidney and liver qi, and is very effective for chronic fatigue. Bu Zhong Yi Qi increases energy, eases colds and allergy symptoms and increases appetite. Liu Wei Di Huang Wan promotes kidney yin, combating night sweats, a symptom of the menopause.
Gui Pi Wan calms nerves and helps sleeping. Gui Fu Di Huang Wan promotes kidney yang and enhances sexual function. Qian Lie Tong Yu Pian treats prostate disorder.
The Balavi Natural Medicine Centre is holding a health festival on the topic of "TCM - Modernised, Safe and Effective" on July 12 2010 at the meeting hall of Thai Medical Association, New Petchburi road. It is a public seminar and exhibition, free of charge. Prof Li Shi Jie will give a lecture on "TCM - Treatment for Cancer". More details can be found at http://www.balavi.com.
About the author
- Writer: Dr Banchob Junhasavasdikul
- Position: Writer
- source : bangkokpost.com
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น