cold – TCM & Moxibustion

What Is Typhoid Fever in TCM?

January 3, 2020 by Moxaman

Simply speaking, typhoid fever in TCM is a disease when cold was not completely eradicated. Usually people will ask: “A cold is caused by a virus. What does it have to do with chill/cold?”

Western Medicine believes that colds are caused by viral infections. Therefore, antibiotics must be used to kill these viruses in order to treat the cold. Chinese Medicine practitioners believe that colds are caused by chill/cold, which does not come off too scientific according to Western Medicine. Therefore, many people think that it is impossible for TCM to cure colds.

Is cold caused by viruses? I think this answer is yes and no. I suggest that everyone do an experiment. If you live in San Francisco, try move your bed next to the window at night,open the window, wear only underwear, don’t put any covering on the body, and last for one night. San Francisco’s nights are usually very cold, and after getting up the next day, you will immediately have running and stuffy nose, or even as severe as a fever; this is the typhoid fever. So now is it only relevant to viruses?

Someone may ask why sometimes one member of the family catches a cold and the others would start getting it too. Isn’t it obviously caused by a virus?

In fact, according to TCM cold can be caused by two factors: 1) It was observed that some colds were caused by viruses in ancient times, which was called “plague”. Most plagues CAN be treated by “Seasonal Febrile Disease Theory” of TCM, and with good results. 2) Some colds, however, are caused by exposure to chilly environment.

Therefore, if an individual simply suffers from a cold caused by chill, it can be treated according to theory of “Treatise on Febrile Diseases”; if a cold is caused by plague (virus infection), and the symptoms are the same as typhoid fever, it can still be treated according to theory of “Treatise on Febrile Diseases”. If the symptoms are different, then treatment based on “Seasonal Febrile Disease Theory” would be effective.

This article is based on the content of “Deciphering TCM” by Tongmei Pan; the original book was written in Chinese.

TCM Treatment Is ‘Digging up Diseases’

January 2, 2020 by Moxaman

At the time an individual is born, theoretically he is completely healthy. Gradually during the course of his growth, many colds are caught; these colds usually do not disappear because of taking of antibiotics, thus hide deep inside the body. After tens or sometimes hundreds of such cases, eventually the ‘Yin’ disease is formed inside the body, as was mentioned in the “Treatise on Febrile Disease”.

Through taking of Chinese Traditional Medicine (CTM), or herbs, the body is able to shake up and expel these diseases, and all the old diseases begin to reappear- those who caught cold in the past would catch it again; those who got pneumonia before would get it again. Facing these unresolved diseases again is a normal phenomenon during treatment.

Therefore, the majority of the illnesses ‘cured’ by western medicine only appear so, but in actuality they ‘hide’ inside the body. It is only through proper treatment of TCM can the old illnesses be dug out and cured, thereby reaching the ultimate goal of eradication. This is the rationale behind ‘Treatment is digging up diseases’.

On the other hand, such treatment method also varies case by case. For young adults, diseases can and must be ‘dug up’, so that complete rehabilitation could be achieved . For middle-aged and elderly, however, it is a different story. Severe confusion would arise if all past diseases that had been accumulated for decades were dug out all at once, unless the patients and their families could fully understand the rationale behind the treatment. Therefore it is sometimes better to leave the diseases intact rather than treating them.

No matter how serious the dug-out diseases, eventually they would exit the body. The cold could be rapidly expelled through take of CTM, or natural rehabilitation could be achieved with adequate rest. It is, however, strongly advised against taking of western medicine again.

Many people, upon digging up of all their diseases, would feel extreme fatigued and drowsy, which is result of repayment of the debt of accumulated sleep deprivation. As long as enough sleep is guaranteed, rehabilitation is only a matter of time. It is strongly advised against take of any stimulant in order to counteract these phenomenon.

This article is based on the content of “Deciphering TCM” by Tongmei Pan; the original book was written in Chinese.

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.