Diseases – Page 4 – TCM & Moxibustion

Moxibustion at One Location Could Treat Multiple Diseases- Case: Cold & Rhinitis* (II)

December 16, 2019 by Moxaman

Moxibustion at one location could treat multiple diseases (II)

The case of this patient was often encountered in clinic. My suspicion is it should be traced back to rhinitis or respiratory disease he had before, and moxibustion treatment happened to unearth these hidden diseases and expose them under the sun. Further inquiry confirmed my suspicion- turns out he had been afflicted by rhinitis for 7-8 years, which was sometimes better and sometimes worse.

I assured him that these manifestations showed moxibustion was effective on him. In fact it is a good opportunity to cure both his cold and rhinitis in one shot. I believe if he sticked to moxibustion for longer, these reactions would gradually decrease, and all original diseases would be cured.

So I advised him to continue moxibustion treatment; once all these reactions were eliminated through moxibustion, the diseases would be heal. There were two problems in his treatment: first, insufficient moxibustion time; and second, moxibustion was not performed thoroughly.

Despite all the adverse reactions, one should not stop moxibustion at this time. If stopped, it would give Evil a break for it to make a comeback, whose adverse effect could become even worse than this time. Such relapses are very detrimental to the diseases.

I explained to him the process of moxibustion again; this time especially emphasized that he should intensify moxibustion of Yingxiang , Yintang and Dazhui acupoints. Yingxiang is next to the nose, which is effective in treating nose diseases. Bird-pecking moxibustion could be performed, that is, the moxa stick is to be moved up and down towards this point, as in the move of a bird pecking. It should last for about 15 minutes.

Furthermore, another acupoint was added this time-Feishu, which is located on the Bladder Meridian of Foot, and effective in treating Lung Meridian and respiratory diseases, such as cough, asthma and stuffy nose. This acupoint can be used together with Yingxiang point to enhance the curative effect. Feishu is an acupoint in the back.

The patient said he couldn’t figure out the precise location of the acupoints, and worry that the moxibustion would go wrong because of it. Moxibustion carries a great advantage in that it’s not necessary for one to know the exact location of the acupoints, which is much different from acupuncture. In acupuncture, a needle is inserted into acupoints, which requires accuracy, therefore it is very difficult for people who have not studied TCM or do not understand meridians or acupoints. Moxibustion, on the other hand, involves a small area including the acupoints, so people who do not understand TCM or acupoints could perform it too. I pointed out the location of Feishu in his back, and told him to put moxibustion box in this area next time. As long as moxibustion sense is felt in this region, it would be effective.

He followed my advice and continued moxibustion for one than week. In the end, not only was his cold cured, but also the rhinitis that had been plagued him repeatedly for years was gone. So he performed moxibustion in one place, and treated two diseases at the same time, which shows power of moxibustion. In fact the same routine could be done in the future, so as to improve immunity and prevent cold.

*These cases are selected from a book “Various Diseases Treated by Moxibustion”, written by Shan Xiamin, a renowned Chinese doctor.

**Severe adverse effect may occur, one should not perform any type of moxibustion without instruction of person of rich experience or professional.

Moxibustion at One Location Could Treat Multiple Diseases- Case: Cold & Rhinitis* (I)

December 16, 2019December 14, 2019 by Moxaman

Moxibustion at one location could treat multiple diseases (I)

As a doctor who has practiced for more than 30 years, I started to write blogs about my decades’ of experience after retirement. One of the purpose is to help those who are perplexed by illnesses yet unable to seek proper treatment.

Many of the inquiries I receive were about how to use moxibustion to treat diseases. Based on my own experience, moxibustion as a method for treatment is inexpensive, simple to operate, and very effective. It has proved for good result on most common diseases and chronic diseases. Another advantage of moxibustion is performing on one site could treat multiple diseases, which seems only possible in TCM.

One of my patient was affected with common cold, whose main symptom was runny nose. I introduced him to a common moxibustion method** for treating colds: light a moxa stick, and suspend the burning end above skin at a distance where perceived temperature from the burning moxa stick is just tolerable. The distance could be further at the beginning, and shortened as one gets more comfortable. Next, start to move the moxa stick from Yingxiang acupoint upwards Yintang acupoint along bridge of the nose; hover above Yintang acupoint for a while, and then to the temple along the eyebrow; practice this repeatedly until skin turns flushed under the moxa fire. This is a moxibustion method called Mild Moxibustion, which would not harm the skin. I also told him it is only when the nose no longer feels hot, but a little cold, will it signify completion of the process. The effect would be best at this time, and could get the job done.

He followed my advice and tried this method at home, but it did not work. He called me the next day and reported the cold felt worse after getting up in the morning; so he performed it again. Unexpectedly he found blood in snot after sneezing, and he felt dry mouth dry during the next few days. He asked if it moxibustion did not work on him, and worried whether new problems would happen besides blood in snot.

Moxibustion Case*- Bloated Abs & Irregular Menstration (II)

December 13, 2019 by Moxaman

Through previous discussion, we know moxibustion has very good therapeutic effect on diseases caused by Cold-evil, Qi stagnation and Original Qi deficiency; so it seems to be a good therapy. Then why does it introduce new diseases? Is it because moxibustion is performed improperly? No, they are all done correctly. The reason arises from an important theory of TCM-human being is a unified whole, the acupoints are points on meridians within the body. Therefore stimulating any part of the body could cause reaction of the whole body, and stimulation of any acupoints could also trigger reaction within this meridian.

The girl mentioned before performed moxibustion on the acupoint of Sanyinjiao, which is intersection of the spleen, kidney, and liver meridians; so all three meridians were influenced at the same time. The spleen meridian is in charge of the digestive function of the body, and kidney and liver meridians are closely related to the reproductive system. During moxibustion of the Sanyinjiao, heating Yang Qi enters these three meridians, which promotes digestive function, dispels Cold in the kidney and liver meridians, thereby the feeling of Qi moving towards interior of the vagina. The evil of Cold and Dampness is excreted from the reproductive system, which appears in the form of leucorrhea and vaginal itching in women.

After all it is the process of rejection of external Evils by the body, which proves presence of Cold in the kidney and liver meridians of the girl all the time. This process is actually very good and once appears, it must be encouraged and sustained, and the disease would be cured in no time.

Now it is easier to understand why I encouraged her to continue perform moxibustion on those points. Many people choose to stop moxibustion at this time because they don’t know such reactions are actually good, which could cause Evil Qi to remain inside the body and this is very unfortunate in treatment.

Within about a month, this girl left me another messaged again:
“I adhereed to moxibustion after listening to your words, and finally my vaginitis and indigestion are all cured. Honestly, it was not easy. In the first few days, I could barely stand the itching below (vaginal itching). But thankfully it was gone in 3 days, and so were the (vaginal) secretions. Now I am relieved from trouble of indigestion and gynecological diseases, and have become more energetic. Thank you so much! ”

Moxibustion Case*- Bloated Abs & Irregular Menstration (I)

December 12, 2019 by Moxaman

A girl whose screen name was ‘Apple peel’ used to send me online messages for consultation. One of her message was:

“During the past two weeks, I still suffered swelling on both sides of the abdomen, especially after lunch. I couldn’t take a nap, and I feel swelling pain within 10 minutes of lying down, sometimes from sides of pelvis to above the thigh. Last week I began to develop stomach pain, then constipation, and very painful. After following your advice of moxibustion on Zhongwan, Guanyuan, Shenque and lower abdomen on both sides, those discomforts are relieved. Now it is stomach pain and constipation are gone, and the lower abdomen no longer feel bloated. The quality of sleep is also much better, and I feel very energetic during the day.

The other day, in order to treat irregular menstruation, I performed moxibustion on Sanyinjiao. During the process, I felt much irritable, Qi going into the vagina and itchy. Later signs of vaginitis appeared, with slightly white and itchy leucorrhea; now it still tickles from time to time. What should I do? “

In fact, this phenomenon is very normal. I told her to continue perform moxibustion on Zhongwan, Guanyuan, Shenjue and Sanyinjiao, and do not worry; it would get well within two weeks. Some people may ask why should she continue moxibustion even though she was already ill doing it?

This is a very common problem. During my disease treatment via moxibustion, many reported that they had been well until moxibustion was performed and illness began to appear; or they were originally trying to treat one disease, but some other ailment emerged after moxibustion. So is moxibustion good or bad?

*These cases are selected from a book “Various Diseases Treated by Moxibustion”, written by Shan Xiamin, a renowned Chinese doctor.

**Severe adverse effect may occur, one should not perform any type of moxibustion without instruction of person of rich experience or professional.

How to take good care of the kidneys? (I)

November 27, 2019 by Moxaman

Kidney deficiency can also lead to uremia. Here we will discuss how to nurse kidney deficiency by nourishing and protecting kidney.

1. Moxibustion
day 1: Zhongwan, Zusanli acupoint
day 2: Mingmen, Shenque acupoint
day 3: Shenyu, Guanyuan acupoint
day 4: Yaoyangguan, Qihai acupoint

Perform moxibustion circularly among the above acupoints, note that the acupoints need to be determined according to the specific symptoms and condition of the patient.

Moxibustion time:
– 15 minutes of suspended moxibustion for adults and
– 40 to 50 minutes for moxibustion apparatus.

2. Dredge the kidney channel
In addition to moxibustion of the acupoints, one could dredge kidney channel in the leg from the bottom to top (from the Yongquan to root of the thighs), which would and also help regulate kidney problems and restore Kidney Yang.

Method: Use the thumb to press the Yongquan acupoint, push upward from Rangu till root of the thigh; do it 3-5 times until skin turns slightly red.

3 types of pain that may be early signals of kidney diseases

November 26, 2019 by Moxaman

1.Low back pain
It is mentioned in TCM: “Waist is government of the kidney”. If kidney is not well, signs would be observed on the waist.

As uremia occurs, people usually feel low back pain; this is because the kidneys could not discharge toxins in a timely manner, which puts heavy burden on the body and kidneys. When the kidneys could no longer handle it, low back pain would happen.

2. Urinary pain
Urinary pain refers to the case where the urethra has a burning sensation when urinating. If a person urinated smoothly in the past and suddenly develop abnormalities such as dysuria, be alert as this may indicate kidney issues.

Human body would discharge toxins and wastes through the urine, and kidney is an important organ that disintegrate the toxins. At early stages of uremia, there may be pain when urinating because the kidneys has been compromised- the toxins are larger, and difficult to be discharged timely from the urine.

3. Headache
Impaired renal function could affect the whole body. Clinically, uremia patients often report headache, drowsiness, fatigue, etc. This is mainly due to influence of the toxins on brain cells to develop pathological changes, which may cause headache and other discomforts.

Modern people have also developed many bad habits that could cause kidney damages, such as staying up late, drinking, etc.

Life Saving Signs in Urine: Three Signals (II)

November 25, 2019November 25, 2019 by Moxaman

2. Urinal foam
Many men are probably going to wonder isn’t it not normal to have bubbles in the urine? Yes if the urinal foam is easily dissipated and of limited amount.

Unusual bubbles:
However, if there is a lot of bubbles in the urine which do not disappear for a long time, then be alerted as it may be the message shy kidney sends you through urine.

Kidney diseases could cause urine protein, which increases surface tension of the urine and forms smaller, difficult-to-dissipate bubbles.

If you were concerned, it is best to go to the hospital and conduct a routine urine check, or 24-hour urine protein quantification, any abnormalities could reveal whether it is proteinuria.

3. Frequent nightly restroom visit

If anyone has to get up repeatedly to urinate at night, please beware of kidney disease.

There are some exceptions thought- for children under the age of 7 who are not yet fully physically developed, elderly with degenerative changes, and pregnant women, physiological nocturia may be normal. But healthy adults generally do not have such issues.

Life Saving Signs in Urine: Three Signals (I)

November 22, 2019 by Moxaman

Human beings have two kidneys, and their functions are very powerful. They serve as filters in the body; each day they filter and clean about 200 liters of blood, and the filtered waste is discharged via the urine.

The kidneys are ‘introverts’ and not good at expressing themselves. Urine, however, acts like a “spokesperson” for the kidney. When the urine is abnormal, very likely it’s the kidney calling for help!

When kidney disease deteriorates to the advanced stage, uremia can occur. Uremic disease is a common clinical syndrome of various advanced kidney diseases and is the end stage of the development of chronic kidney failure, which could severely affect a patient’s physical health and quality of life, and has a high mortality rate.

Here we will impart two tricks to discern early signals of kidney disease:
1. Observe the urine;
2. Look out for three types of pain

Three signals revealed by urine

1) Urine color

1. Normal color:
Normal urine generally have clear appearance when water supply is sufficient; otherwise the color will become light yellow. Normal urine has a light ammonia smell, but it is nothing pungent.

2. Abnormal colors:
Color of red, meat washing water, and brown could all be indicators of kidney disease. “Meat washing water color” can be literally understood as color of diluted blood after pork is washed .

3. Pseudo hematuria:
However, sometimes after eating foods of heavy pigment such as pitaya (aka the dragon fruit), beet, mulberry, red urine could also be observed. This is called “pseudo hematuria”, which is normal.

So if color of the urine changes significantly, one should think about what foods has been eaten lately, and see if there would be any improvement in the next few days.

4. How to distinguish between true and false hematuria?
Honestly it is hard to tell the difference. If still no significant change in urine was observed in a few days, it is best to go to the hospital for a urine test.

The test standard is whether there are red blood cells in the urine. For pseudo hematuria, urine test is normal and without red blood cells; if caused by kidney disease, urine test will indicate a lot of red blood cells.