Wednesday 7 January 2009

Day 16 - Traditional Chinese Medicine


"Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one of the world's oldest medical systems still widely practised today. It is a unique and independent medical system which originated from China and developed down through the centuries imbued with the spirit of Chinese civilisation and culture.

Chinese Medicine was established through centuries of trial and error processes, taking a very long time from the beginning of the practice of Chinese Medicine to the establishment of a complete theory.

Through the Silk Road and other cultural exchanges, Chinese Medicine had been exported to Europe and other continents hundreds and thousands of years ago, being practiced in more than 100 countries around the world, and influencing the development of many other herbal medicines in regions outside Asia.

Traditional Chinese Medicine has a holistic approach to diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases by identifying patterns and then applying the individual or combined therapies of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, tuina - a therapeutic massage; and other techniques."*

*http://www.atcm.co.uk/medicine.htm#acupuncture

I haven't seen much change at all since taking the homeopathic medicines for my sinuses. It must be something else.

Western medicine has so far proved unsuccessful; personally, I have a lot more faith in traditional herbal medicine and remedies.

China has a long tradition of preventative health care and, interestingly, doctors only used to get paid when their patients were well. If their patients were ill, they did not get paid.

This signified that the doctor was doing his job well and was thus rewarded accordingly.

In today’s Western society, doctors are revered as heroes and raised on pedestals as if they were gods. They are thus paid ‘accordingly’, whether they successfully treat a patient or not.

My faith in orthodox medicine is waning and I have decided to go and see a Chinese doctor tomorrow for another opinion on my headache.

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