TCM Treatment Is ‘Digging up Diseases’



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.

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