Traditional Chinese Medicine vs Modern Medicine - Essay Example

Traditional Chinese Medicine Vs Modern Medicine Department Module History of medicine Medicine is a field of great scientific importance and interest; it has been practiced by experts and professionals throughout different eras of time. Over different time eras and periods, many societies and civilization made discoveries adding to the achievements. Ancient Egyptians and the ancient Indians are known for their advances in medicine. They together gave the concept of diagnosis and examination in medicine. The Hippocratic Oath has been taken by physicians to follow an ethical code while practicing medicine since the 5th century BC; this oath was written by the Greeks (Zhang 2009). The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) made some great discoveries and led the medicine forward with their newly found discoveries and understanding of the human body. Furthermore, methods of trauma treatment were further created and public health services were provided. Medicine has seen a systematic growth over the years, and even now, discoveries are made and new insights are revealed. This has been due to various machines and equipment’s that the doctors have designed making diagnosis and treatment much easier. Discovery of new drugs and Nano-particles has brought health care come a long way. (Zheng, Chang and Chen 2014) The Chinese Myths of Medicine The traditional Chinese medicine revolves around a number of different practices which share similar grounds. These medicinal practices include the famous acupuncture, massage, herbal medicine, and exercise and diet therapies. The practices have become a tradition since the beginning of Chinese era. Diseases and infections have haunted mankind from day one of their existence. These diseases have always pushed man to strive harder and find cures for a healthier life. The origin of the Chinese medicine has been lost in time since these discoveries were made before writing was even invented. The Shang dynasty however, in 1766 BC started the written language and started scribing the discoveries and the findings. Some of these works are dated back to a thousand years. The term for disease, bing, was created during the time of the Shang civilization and it is still being used today in present day of Chinese medicine. The Shang civilization has left behind an extensive number of well composed records mostly scribbled on oracle bones. Sickness, amid this period, was thought to spread out using the wind currents, and was credited to the revenge of furious gods and ancestors. The Shang civilization was familiar with the concept of diseases and knew that it took different forms, although they recognized and took under consideration only a few diseases due to limited knowledge and resources. The shaman, or wu, was usually the religious pioneer or minister of a tribe. He/she was accepted to hold mystical powers and have the capacity to explore along the Pivot Mundi, Profound Pivot, or Ling Shu. This turn of the world, was accepted to be the association between the lower, center, and upper universes. (Walsh 2007) In shamanism, one must cure alternate universes keeping in mind the end goal to improve things, or right, in this world. Consequently, the shaman was frequently called upon by the group to perform a psychodrama, make penances to Shang-Ti, or go about as the intermediary between the people and the spirits of alternate universes. To do this, the shaman would go into a blissful state, or daze, that would empower him/her to cross along the turn of the three universes, the Ling Shu, trying to cure ailment, exorcize abhorrence spirits, realize achievement in chasing and farming, and generally speaking, to keep the group sound and in proper behavior. (Guo 2006) Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) The traditional Chinese medicine has special methods of diagnosing a disease. They inspect the face and the tongue, observing the color, size, tension and the shape etc. Next comes auscultation, which basically is auditory observations of wheezing or any other particular sounds which could indicate a disease. Next comes the inquisition part, here the person is asked about the symptoms he feels by giving suggestive remarks regarding fever, sleep, pain, taste, this is coupled with feeling the body for tensions and “A-shi points” along with feeling palpitations in the wrist and abdomen. (Liu 2003) There are a number of current diseases that traditional Chinese medicine gave treatment for, some of the many are described below along with the method adopted 1. Asthma Asthma is a long term diseases which causes inflammation of the airways resulting of them narrowing down, causing difficulty of breathing for an individual. There are a number of reasons which could cause an asthma attack including food, stress, pollen and smoke or dust. The traditional Chinese medicine has two basic ways to fix asthma: herbal medicine and acupuncture. The herbal prescription disarms cold, eliminates phlegm, warms up the interior and relieves one from bronchial spasms. Acupuncture therapy treatment for asthma ought to concentrate on steadying the lungs and removing the mucus. The focuses points need to be left set up for 30 minutes. On the other hand, modern medicine has prescribed inhalers to asthmatic patients. These inhalers help relaxing the airways making it easier to breath. Many of the patients however now are switching toward herbal medicine since it has no side effects and has shown drastic changes in patients with fewer attacks and patterns of easy breathing. 2. Toothache Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that some mouth aggravation is brought due to kidney issues, since the kidney is responsible for bones, teeth and gums. Lacking kidney Yin vitality brings about poor resistance in the oral cavity, weak teeth and gums. Pathogenic toxins, both, from within the body and from outside it, may attack teeth and gums, bringing on aggravation. According to TCM, intense agony and the inclination to create excruciating conditions are both ascribed to something many refer to as blood stagnation. For inflammation it is suggested to eat cold food that disperses pathogenic warmth. This includes chrysanthemum tea, cucumber and celery. After the irritation is gone, eat kidney-strengthening nourishments like gouqi (wolfberries), pigeon and walnuts. Washing the mouth with warm salt water and splashing the sore gum in the salt water can help mitigate aggravation. Putting a piece of American ginseng on the irritation can also help the irritation. Hand, jaw and feet acupuncture helps alleviate toothache too. Modern medicine always encourages having cold food or ice cream after a tooth extraction to alleviate the pain and help healing. This is completely in line with the TCM. Also, modern medicine has taken few of the herbs used in past to make ointments for pain alleviation. 3. Gout Gout is a complex form of arthritis and is very painful to experience which usually targets the knees, ankles, elbows and the feet. It makes particularly hard to walk with such a form of arthritis and it is one of the leading diseases in United States at the moment. In Chinese medicine, gout is referred to as damp or moist heat for which there is a natural recipe referred to as Si Miao San. This cure, which comprises of four distinct herbs, has been considered in China and has been very helpful as opposed to standard gout drugs. Use of cherries has been prescribed to gout patients in the early Chinese era. Exercise and acupuncture too were common methods to help treat gout in long term. Modern medicine has used placebos as a way to help gout patients. Other than this, they too have asked the patients to make dietary choices and decisions by eating more anti-oxidant rich food like cherries and eliminating alcohol consumption. Folic acid is highly recommended. Physiotherapy has been given to gout patients. Here again, a pattern of similarities can still be observed between the modern practices and ancient Chinese methodology. 4. Eczema Eczema is a common terminology for a number of skin conditions caused together, basically in such a condition, the skin becomes irritated, flaky and inflamed. TCM believed on treating a problem inwards out. They always sought out for the root cause rather than the problem itself in order to completely eliminate the disease whereas conventional treatments now days only focus on temporary solutions by offering topical creams to help soothe the inflammation and irritation. These creams usually include drugs such as Benadryl and 1% hydrocortisone. Eczema is treated with the help of dried up roots and leaves along with the bark and flowers. This mixture is made to boil and is made in a concentrated solution and is then prescribed to be in taken daily, results have shown that the disease is overcome within six to twelve months. (Dong 2013) Conclusion The modern medicine has sprouted out from few of the traditional Chinese medicine ideologies. Taking the example of diagnosis, most of our doctors in the present times follow the exact route for premature diagnosis of diseases and whilst taking the patients history. The major difference lies in how the TCM focuses on natural remedies using herbs and exercise and the pressure points on the human body. The modern medicine on the other hand has been using exotic drugs, along with self-designed receptor specific drugs for different diseases. Many at times, the modern medicine becomes invasive and life threatening, but so does TCM if knowledge about pressure points and herbs is not entirely correct. Chinese medicine hospitals have been set up in various countries which practice strictly the traditional methods. The methods of TCM have not been vigorously tested or explored due to lack of time and resources however it can be said without a doubt that traditional Chinese medicine treatments could be very beneficial for the human kind. (Dong 2013) References 1. Guo, R. 2006. The Foundations Of Chinese Medicine. Focus On Alternative And Complementary Therapies 11 (1): 71-71. doi:10.1111/j.2042-7166.2006.tb01251.x. 2. Walsh, J. (2007, July 16). Shang: The first dynasty of China. Retrieved November 20, 2007, 3. Liu, Qing. 2003. Researches Into The Modernization Of Tongue Diagnosis: In Retrospect And Prospect. Journal Of Chinese Integrative Medicine 1 (1): 66-70. doi:10.3736/jcim20030128. 4. Zheng, Wenke, Bai Chang, and Jing Chen. 2014. Improving Participant Adherence In Clinical Research Of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Evidence-Based Complementary And Alternative Medicine 2014: 1-5. doi:10.1155/2014/376058. 5. Dong, Jingcheng. 2013. The Relationship Between Traditional Chinese Medicine And Modern Medicine. Evidence-Based Complementary And Alternative Medicine 2013: 1-10. doi:10.1155/2013/153148. Read More