Chinese traditional herbal medicine

Encyclopedia of Medicine, Apr 06, 2001 by Rebecca J. Frey

The primary precaution for Westerners in using Chinese herbal medicine is to respect its complexity. Problems do not usually result from combinations of Chinese herbal therapy and western medicine as such -- in contemporary China, the so-called "new medicine" blends western laboratory equipment and biochemistry with traditional Chinese theories of disease. Difficulties can arise, however, when Westerners ignore the differences between Chinese herbal therapy and European folk medicine, Native American medicine, homeopathy, and other alternative treatments that use herbs, and attempt to medicate themselves with mixtures of herbs from a variety of recipes. Many books that discuss traditional Chinese medicine as a treatment option advise readers to consult a qualified practitioner and use his or her herbal prescriptions consistently, without making arbitrary substitutions.

Diagnosis in Chinese medicine has four phases:

• Visual examination. The doctor notes the patient's expression, complexion, and general physique. The distinctive feature of Chinese medicine is the detailed examination of the tongue for color, shape, and coating (if any).
• Listening/smelling. The doctor listens to the breathing and looks for any unusual body sounds or odors.
• Verbal questions. This phase is similar to history-taking in a western medical examination.
• Palpation. The doctor feels the patient's ten organs through the abdomen, the qi points along the meridians, and the pulse. Chinese medicine distinguishes three different pulse points on each wrist and as many as thirty different pulse qualities at each point. Pulse diagnosis takes years to master in the Chinese system and is regarded by patients as an important measure of a doctor's skill.

Traditional Chinese treatment is highly individualized because the practitioner proceeds from the assumption that different individuals have different levels of qi and therefore various degrees of vulnerability to internal imbalances or external causes of disease. Two different patients might be given different remedies for the same disease, or the same patient might be given one prescription for two different diseases.

Traditional Chinese herbal medicine applies herbs to the body externally as well as internally. Dried herbs may be mixed with water and used as poultices to treat arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, bruises, abscesses, and strained backs. A distinctive technique is the use of moxibustion, which is the application of heat to an area of skin directly over a meridian by burning a wick made of herbs (usually mugwort) a slight distance above the skin. Moxibustion is used to treat many conditions, including mumps, vaginal bleeding, pulled nerves, arthritis, and chronic nosebleeds.

Acupuncture, massage, and the use of suction cups, called cupping, are external treatments that are often used in Chinese medicine in conjunction with internal herbal therapy.

Traditional Chinese medicine uses herbs for preventive treatment as well as for curing illness. Prescriptions are fine-tuned by the herbalist, as well as by the doctor, and formulated according to the patient's constitution, as well as the nature of the herbs. Chinese herbal medicine differs from current western herbal medicine in several ways. Chinese herbal medicine, unlike western herbal medicine, is based on ancient formulas. Western practitioners have no ancient formulas, nor a developed diagnostic system, but they select herbs based on a symptom description by each patient. Also, most western herbal practitioners use one herb (called simpling) or occasionally, a combination of herbs; again differing from the Chinese system based on developed formulas. Chinese herbal medicine uses water for the extraction of its base herb. Currently, many western companies, even when manufacturing Chinese formulas, use alcohol or glycerin extraction.