How Chinese Medicine Can Help Heal Sports Injuries
By Sally Perkins
Chinese freeski champion Gu Ailing won gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 – and she attributed part of her victory to Chinese medicine. At just 18 years old, this major accomplishment for Ailing does not just showcase her talent as a skier, but also the powerful results that Chinese medicine can bring about when used in the right way. Modern-day athletes can benefit greatly from Chinese medicinal practice, whether used alone or in conjunction with more westernized remedies.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Ailing is fortunate enough to have an entire team of Sichuan Zheng-style orthopedics behind her to help strengthen the body and prevent injuries from occurring. Orthopedic team leader Zhu Jiangwei uses traditional Sichuan Zheng practices to guide the body with functional exercises, training, and injury prevention. The Sichuan Zheng approach to Chinese medicine is thousands of years old and entails using ancient methods of acupuncture, moxibustion, and massage.
These methods are designed to stimulate blood flow, strengthen the internal organs, and dissolve energetic stagnation. This enables athletes like Ailing to expend more energy over time and creates internal stability that prevents injuries from taking place. According to media reports, the young skier claims, “my back has never felt so good”, even after the spectacular performance she put on during the Olympics.
Chinese medicine always focuses on the potential for healing, regardless of how obstinate the injury or illness might be. Through these processes, Chinese medicine practitioners like Jiangwei can support even the most active and high-performing bodies from a more holistic perspective.
Calming Nerves With Ancient Herbs
The nervous system plays a significant role in the modalities of traditional Chinese medicine. While Ailing’s championship required her to focus more on the practical components of injury prevention and muscle strengthening, the use of ancient herbs is otherwise very prevalent in Chinese medicine.
Traditional healers will use a wide variety of different herbs, roots, barks, and flowers to support the nervous system as well as the bones, organs, and energy – or chi. Calming down nerves is just one of the benefits that these natural medicines can offer when utilized correctly. Staying calm and focused is crucial for any sportsperson and having access to traditional medicine that assists with this is a major advantage.
Ginseng is one of the most commonly used roots in Chinese medicine, used to aid digestion, enhance brain function, and fight adrenal fatigue. The use of traditional Chinese herbs has been found by several studies to alleviate cortisol levels, boost immunity, and promote the production of feel-good chemicals that support both the body and mind.
A Return To Traditions
As more professional athletes like Ailing speak openly about their reliance on traditional Chinese medicine and practices, people from all over the world become aware of the deep healing potential that it possesses.
Chinese medicine is becoming increasingly popular amongst athletes and sports enthusiasts who are craving a more holistic approach to injury prevention and treatment. Any athlete seeking integrative treatment for musculoskeletal injuries, blood flow, and systemic energy release can benefit from the therapeutic qualities of traditional Chinese medicine.
Featured image by Monicore on Pexels
Ancient Chinese Beauty Tips For Flawless Skin
By Sally Perkins
The cosmetics industry has achieved tremendous growth through the years. According to recent data, the anti-aging cosmetics market will hit the $60 billion mark by 2026. Skincare is one of the oldest practices, dating back to ancient history. While beauty enthusiasts are always looking out for the latest innovations in beauty to enhance their skincare regimen, sometimes, looking to the past provides more solutions than the present. And there's no better place to seek traditional beauty secrets than China. The traditional Chinese approach to skincare combines a mix of techniques including herbal, diet therapy, and acupuncture to revitalize the skin. Whether you're searching for ways to get rid of wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, or heal acne holistically with traditional Chinese medicine, below are a few ancient Chinese beauty tips for flawless skin.
Drink The Right Herbal Tea
Chinese beauty rituals are mostly based on using the right herbs for treating various skin conditions. Common herbs used in traditional Chinese skincare routines are Goji, Bei Qi, and Huang Qi. While you can apply these herbs topically to achieve skin clarity, slow down signs of aging, and revitalize your skin, you can also steep them to make herbal tea. However, to maintain glowing skin, you must use herbal tea remedies correctly based on skin condition and season. For example, if you're looking to detox, improve your immune system, and achieve a clear and smooth complexion, herbs like Goji and Ju Hua are the perfect choice. For best results, you should use these herbs in summer, when they are more potent.
Use A Jade Roller
For centuries, Chinese women used a jade roller to target acupuncture points in the skin, thus opening up the meridian blockage to enhance blood circulation, boost lymphatic drainage, diminish fine lines, and depuff the skin. Since jade rolling entails applying pressure on the skin, you can combine it with advanced beauty technology, like laser treatments, to treat other skin conditions like varicose or spider veins on legs and arms. Treating spider veins using laser technology and a holistic approach like jade rolling guarantees safety and long-term results, thus boosting one's confidence.
Try Mung Beans
Traditional Chinese women loved DIY face masks and their favorite ingredient was mung beans, which they ground to a paste. Applying mung bean masks helps your skin appear healthy and radiant. Because mung beans contain vitamins and antioxidants, they help reduce blemishes, reduce acne, and heal acne scars. To make your skin flawless, combine powdered mung beans from a Chinese herbal store or pharmacy and mix it with Greek yogurt. Apply the thick mixture onto your face and let it sit for 10 minutes before washing it off with plain water.
Maintaining flawless skin is a desire all beauty enthusiasts wish to accomplish. Try these traditional Chinese beauty secrets to revitalize your skin for a healthy, radiant glow.
Featured image photo by cottonbro from Pexels
What Can Chinese Art Teach Us about Healing?
By Sally Perkins
“Where the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity,” said Hippocrates, highlighting the fact that medicine is a creative as well as a scientific pursuit. Medical professionals, after all, have a range of tools, knowledge, and experience at hand but often, in order for all these to align in the correct balance, creative choices need to be made. Ancient Chinese art, like ancient writings, are a rich source of information about medical practises, some of which are still used with patients today. They are also testimony to the celebration of humanity in all its facets and an open window into the suffering and joy involved in illness and healing, respectively.
Suffering for a Higher Good
The work Moxibustion, a hanging scroll by the Song artist Li Tang, depicts an itinerant doctor conducting moxibustion - a form of heat therapy in which dried plant materials (moxa) are burned close to or on the surface of the skin, to invigorate the flow of Qi through the body and to eliminate toxins. In the beautifully detailed scroll, the man being treated contorts his face in pain and others hold onto him or try to accompany him during this difficult time. The work is not only illustrative of the importance of balanced Qi but also a symbol of the sacrifices that must be made to achieve it and the pain this can involve. In order to be healthy of mind and body, everything from one’s choice of diet to one’s breathing and exercise habits must work in unison since prevention is always better (and less painful) than cure.
Photo by The Harmony of the Eight Brocades
The Eight Brocades are a set of qigong exercises that focus on a different meridian, once again focusing on a different meridian to encourage the optimal flowing of qi through the body. The work Illustrated Album of the Eight Pieces of Brocade, created by an anonymous artist during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) portrays the eight exercises as well as breathing exercises. In the illustrations, both the beauty of the human form and the peace and joy that result from prioritizing health, are evident. In some postures, the subjects open their mouths to breathe but also seem to smile, their mouths turned upwards and their eyes both concentrating and enjoying the moment they are in.
Recreating the Beauty of Ancient Chinese Art
Art in itself can be a means of healing. It can inspire one to lead a healthier lifestyle and aspire to a higher ideal of health - a holistic, all-encompassing state of body and mind, one in which Qi is unblocked. If you wish to follow the example laid out in ancient Chinese art, begin by drawing the human face and body, paying special attention to proportion and perspective. If you are a beginner to drawing and you wish to express pain, joy, peace, and other qualities through the eyes, take advantage of online resources to hone the basics of eye sketching. Basic steps include making and joining curved lines, adding the iris, and adding color and details. As your skills improve, you can start to include more people in your drawings and create more sophisticated compositions.
Following the Examples Set in Ancient Chinese Art
You can also visit exhibitions featuring medical and health subjects to enlighten you on how to lead a healthier life. From studying the different positions and breathing techniques of qi gong right through to learning more about healing herbs, diet, and traditional medicines, you can balance the vital force of energy within you and feel more invigorated. In this state, it is easier to embrace creativity in everything from your work to your leisure time.
Art and science have a strong link and nowhere is this more evident than in highly praised objects of ancient Chinese art. The latter displays suffering, treatment, and healing methods. It also shows the importance of breathing and exercise to strengthen the body and enable Qi to flow as it needs to.
Featured image photo by Lisanto 李奕良 on Unsplash - photo from Sanxia District, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Using Traditional Chinese Medicine To Heal Common Gardening Injuries
Using Traditional Chinese Medicine To Heal Common Gardening Injuries
By Sally Perkins
Gardening has become a favorite hobby worldwide as a study indicates that in 2020, over 20 million novice gardeners began planting and digging in the soil for the first time in their lives. Not only has it become a great pastime and stress-reliever, but gardening has also enabled many individuals to grow their own food in their backyard. Though gardening has multiple benefits for physical and mental health, it also comes with its own set of hazards that can lead to injuries and various body aches and pains. Fortunately, there are ancient Chinese remedies that you can use to deal with these various injuries and have a pain-free time in the garden.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
For cuts and scrapes
Getting injured in the garden is a common occurrence for both novice and seasoned gardeners. In fact, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand notes that emergency rooms treat more than 400,000 gardening-related accidents each year. Some of the most common injuries include cuts and scrapes, and while most cases may not warrant a trip to the hospital, they still need to be looked after to prevent infection. The ancient Chinese typically used a combination of four plant-derived ingredients, which are agrimony, sacred lotus, frankincense, and cattail pollen, to heal wounds. You can find a pulverized version of these four ingredients in Chinese herbal stores and apply the mixture to cuts, scrapes and wounds to speed up healing and reduce scar formation. You may also use powdered Yunnan Baiyao to treat bleeding cuts or wounds to prevent further blood loss. Just make sure to clean the wound or scrapes thoroughly before applying the powder to minimize the risk of infection.
Photo by Brian Patrick Tagalog on Unsplash
For sunburn
Gardeners are at a high risk for sunburn. Not only can it lead to pain and discomfort, but constant and prolonged exposure to the sun may also cause skin aging and skin cancer. To prevent sunburn, it's important to apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 before going outside. Gardeners should also have a shady spot in the garden where they can rest and seek respite from the hot sun. Consider creating a sitting area under a shady tree by installing a comfortable hammock, then add a small table where you can put drinks or a bottle of water so you can hydrate while you rest. If you do get a sunburn though, there are several things you can do to relieve the pain.
Traditional Chinese medicine views sunburn to be a condition wherein damp heat is trapped in the skin, and it's usually treated with a combination of topical herb therapy, rehydration, and acupuncture to release the trapped heat. For a sunburn, TCM practitioners often recommend eating cooling foods such as celery, cucumber, watermelon, pears, and cantaloupes. Drinking a glass of water every hour, as well as some green tea and calendula tea, is also recommended to repair skin cell damage from sunburn. A topical application of aloe vera gel mixed with crushed dandelion greens is also used to soothe redness and pain.
Gardening is a healthy hobby that can benefit your life in so many ways. Though it does come with some hazards, you can stay safe and have an enjoyable time in your backyard by staying hydrated, protecting yourself from the sun, and using tools carefully. Should you get scrapes, cuts, or a sunburn while gardening, consider using traditional Chinese medicine to heal your skin, and always consult a professional before using any herbal remedies.
Photo by Jordan Wozniak on Unsplash
Featured image photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Ancient Chinese Medicine Secrets For Younger Looking Skin
By Sally Perkins
Skin aging is a common concern among millions of people all over the world, and some people won't hesitate to spend a lot of money to keep their skin looking young. According to a survey, most people spend over 25 percent of their beauty maintenance budget on their face alone. Moreover, it was found that more women in their 30s choose to invest in anti-aging products and facial moisturizers than any other age group. Using pricey creams and serums may give your skin a youthful glow, but traditional Chinese medicine and therapies may be even better to prevent and combat wrinkles, fine lines, and other visible signs of skin aging. Here's are some ancient Chinese medicine secrets for younger looking skin.
Almonds to reduce fine lines
Photo by Nacho Fernández on Unsplash
Several factors, such as constant exposure to direct sunlight, lifestyle habits, and an unhealthy diet can cause skin aging. Having dry indoor air can also result in dry skin and make it look older than it really is. This is why it's important to increase the moisture in the air with a humidifier to keep your skin looking supple and young. Apart from adding humidity to your indoor air, another thing that you can do to keep your face smooth and wrinkle-free is to use almonds as part of your beauty regimen.
Almond oil has been used in ancient Chinese practices to help soothe and soften the skin. Since it contains Vitamin A, it can also stimulate the production of new skin cells and reduce fine lines. You can use a small amount of almond oil as a facial moisturizer, or use it as a makeup remover. You can also try using ground almonds as an overnight mask. Prepare an ancient Chinese skincare recipe by soaking almonds in water and peeling the brown skins off. Grind the peeled almonds and mix with one egg white. Apply to your face and leave it overnight; rinse it off in the morning with cool water to reduce fine lines.
Acupuncture for wrinkle-free skin
Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash
Acupuncture can stimulate the body's healing responses, depending on where the needles are inserted. To improve wrinkles, an acupuncturist will insert needles in certain facial points to trigger the production of collagen in the body. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, but as we age, our bodies produce less and less collagen, which can result in wrinkles and older looking skin. By increasing the body's collagen stores, acupuncture can help to give you that radiant glow that you once had. Avoid reversing the effects of facial acupuncture by limiting your exposure to direct sunlight, avoiding smoking, and refraining from eating too much sugar and refined carbohydrates.
Soy to increase skin firmness
Photo by Yoav Aziz on Unsplash
Food therapy is an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine since the food we eat can have an effect on the way we look and feel. Soy products such as tofu and soy milk have always been consumed by women in various parts of Asia, which may explain why their skin looks younger than their years. Studies show that the nutrients in soy can increase the production of elastin in the body, which can make the skin stronger, firmer, and less likely to sag. You can include tofu or miso in your everyday meals, or mix warm soybean milk with a little ground almond, and drink it in the morning to enhance your skin's firmness.
Having younger looking skin doesn't have to cost you a fortune. Try these traditional Chinese remedies to get rid of fine lines, wrinkles and sagging, and enjoy having beautiful and healthy skin as you age.
Featured image photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash
Download our sheets to learn more about Chinese Medicine
Are you a practitioner? See our professional shop to download sheets for your practice
Chinese Medicine Now Used To Treat Common Oral Health Issues
By Sally Perkins
Chinese medicine - particularly the use of traditional herbs - has been used for centuries in various Asian countries (including Korea, Japan, and the Philippines). However, a study on Chinese parental units with children aged under 12 in Houston and Boston has found that 45.6% of parents and 19.1% of children use Chinese medicine to treat specific oral conditions. These include bad breath, gingivitis, canker sores, herpes labialis, and tooth pain or sensitivity. The most commonly used medication, researchers at the University of Texas School of Dentistry found, were watermelon frost, niuhuang jiedu pian, and honey/propolis. What are these substances used for, and how can they help preserve better oral health as a whole?
Rebalancing Energy To Battle Halitosis
Traditional Chinese medicine recommended that people adopt a healthy lifestyle so as to keep energy balanced. Halitosis can arise from a wide array of causes, however - including digestive issues, tooth decay and gum disease. Inflamed gums caused by plaque build-up (gingivitis) are often characterized by an unpleasant smell. This is because the bacteria that irritates the gums can proliferate and cause bad breath. Left unchecked, gingivitis can cause loss of bone and teeth, severely harming your oral health and wellbeing. To battle gingivitis, daily brushing of the teeth and gumline and flossing are important. Chinese medicine commonly utilizes herbs such as danpi, huanglian, and huang qin to dispel heat. Doing so can also help reduce mouth ulcers and battle constipation. When halitosis is caused by a yin deficiency in the lungs, meanwhile, liquorice, ophiopogon root, and almonds are often recommended. There are other causes for halitosis - including deficient energy in the kidney and other systematic problems. It is important to determine the cause prior to taking a specific herb or set of herbs.
Photo by Shiny Diamond from Pexels
Tooth Sensitivity And Chinese Herbs
When a patient has tooth sensitivity or pain, it is important to find the cause. This can originate from the stomach, kidney, mouth (for instance, owing to a tooth infection), amongst other areas. Usually, the type of pain or sensitivity will be determined by the situation. For instance, if tooth pain is acute and aggravated by eating hot food (but alleviated by eating cold foods) then the problem may be an ‘invasion of wind-heat, which can be dispelled by clearing heat and removing toxins. Herbs used to achieve this aim can include jin yin hua, lian qiao, and jing jie sui. Recommendations are usually amended depending on the presence or absence of symptoms such as swollen gums, a headache or a cough.
Acupuncture For Dental Pain, Dental Anxiety, And Dry Mouth
Acupuncture is used in both traditional Chinese medicine and modern western medicine to treat a host of dental disorders. These include dental pain, dental anxiety and gag reflex, TMJ, facial spasms, headache, dry mouth, nerve pain, and a burning or numb sensation in the mouth. Study after study has shown that acupuncture can help reduce pain and other symptoms. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Statement on Acupuncture of November of 1998, for instance, reports that acupuncture can successfully help quell postoperative dental pain. Another study (Ernst and Pittler) showed that acupuncture can help treat acute dental pain. Additional research by Johnstone and Furness showed that acupuncture could help relieve dry mouth in patients who had received radiotherapy for head and neck cancers.
Chinese medicine is increasingly being used across the globe to treat a variety of issues - everything from bad breath to dry mouth. Specific lifestyle recommendations and herbs can help deal with issues such as excess heat, which can result in gum inflammation, pain, and other problems. Acupuncture, meanwhile, is used widely to treat everything from dry mouth post-radiotherapy to dental anxiety.
Featured image photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
Download our sheets to learn more about Chinese Medicine
Are you a practitioner? See our professional shop to download sheets for your practice
Chinese Medicine To Support Sensible Weight Loss
By Sally Perkins
According to the CDC, around three-quarters of all American adults are overweight. With around two-thirds of these trying to change their eating habits and lose a few pounds, it’s no surprise that weight loss plans and programs are big business, with a huge range of suggestions and options touted as providing miraculous results – some with more success than others. Chinese medicine offers the opportunity for mindful, realistic and sustained weight loss, so if you’re looking for a sensible solution for an ongoing, healthy lifestyle, here are some changes you could consider making.
Food and Functionality
Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on many principles relating to food consumption, metabolism and digestion which can aid weight loss and improve your relationship with eating. Excessive weight gain is thought to relate to the accumulation of ‘dampness’ – a condition that occurs when food intake, absorption, digestion and transportation are not balanced. Take the festive season as an example – if you eat too much, or consume food higher in fat, your spleen and stomach will struggle to transform your food, and any excess will be left sitting stationary, leading to an accumulation of dampness.
Elimination of dampness is the main tenet of traditional Chinese weight loss programs, and there are a number of ways to achieve this. According to the guidelines, cultivating a diet of bitter, sour and pungent foods can aid with achieving a healthy body shape, and help you avoid fluctuating weight that can have an impact on your mood, wellbeing and budget – having to invest in different clothes of different sizes gets expensive, and has a negative impact on the environment too. Whether you’re ensuring your favorite bikini will fit exactly come the summer, aiming to eliminate health conditions exacerbated by weight, or simply want to adopt a more mindful lifestyle, changing the way you eat can make a real difference.
Antioxidant Assistance
Many Chinese people drink tea every day, and it is thought to have a number of health benefits. Polyphenols are an antioxidant found in tea and may help to maintain a healthy metabolism whilst you lose weight, repairing cells and easing digestive issues. Green tea, Jiaogulan tea and Oolong all have a soothing flavor and a good level of antioxidants, and just one cup a day is enough to make a difference – something that can be easily incorporated into most daily routines. There are also various herbs known to support weight loss by suppressing appetite, burning fat, and boosting metabolism. He Ye (lotus leaf), Fu Ling and Huang Qi are some of the most well-known, but there are others that may also be suitable, depending on your lifestyle, goals and commitment to weight loss. Consulting a Chinese medicine practitioner can help you to tailor an individual treatment plan based on your personal needs.
Photo by Kristaps Ungurs on Unsplash
Changing the way you eat and drink and supplementing with appropriate herbs is not just about losing weight; it’s about improving your overall wellbeing and health as well. Making one or two small changes at a time can support you to develop positive food habits that’ll balance your body and leave you feeling fit and functional – as well as helping you to stay that way.
Featured image photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash
Download Our Sheets To Learn More About Chinese Medicine
Are You A Practitioner?
Please visit the Chinese Medicine Professionals Shop to get PRO sheets for your clinic that you can share with patients. Yay!
Treating Nerve Damage With Acupuncture
By Sally Perkins
At present, it is estimated that nearly 20 million people in the USA are living with various degrees of peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) can be caused by infections, traumatic injury, genetic disorders, exposure to toxins, and metabolic concerns. It has also been found that diabetes is one of the most common causes of the condition. Although there are a number of treatment options that exist, including a range of prescription medications, Traditional Chinese Medicine - and acupuncture, in particular - can also be used with great effect. Many individuals living with neuropathy turn to acupuncture to not only relieve their pain, but to stimulate blood flow and restore nerve damage as well.
Acupuncture can bring immense relieve
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture is used to relieve pain and treat discomfort. When the needles are inserted into the various pressure points in the body, the nervous system is stimulated, which releases endorphins and in turn, changes the body’s response to pain. Apart from performing acupuncture, a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner can also prescribe a range of herbs that can help speed recovery and aid in addressing pain and discomfort.
What about nerve damage caused by tattoos?
While the chance of getting nerve damage from a tattoo is very small, it is possible. Any good tattoo artist should know, however, how far the needle can be inserted into the skin to prevent damage from occurring. In order to further avoid tattoo-related neuropathy, avoid having tattoos done on parts of the body that have the biggest bundles of nerve-endings. These include the groin area, the head, the face and ears, behind the knees, the hands, the feet, the fingers, and the lips. Should nerve damage occur despite all the necessary precautions being taken, acupuncture can be used with great success to treat the underlying neuropathy.
If you have a fear of needles, don’t despair
Even if you are afraid of needles like approximately 50 million other Americans, you can still turn to TCM for relief from neuropathy. Acupressure offers similar benefits to acupuncture but without being nearly as invasive. Acupressure involves massaging or applying pressure to the various acupuncture points in the body in order to stimulate the various energy pathways. Acupressure may help to relieve many of the symptoms associated with neuropathy, including a tingling or burning sensation, a ‘prickly’ feeling, and the loss of sensation that is typically associated with nerve damage.
Acupuncture can prove to be very useful in treating neuropathy. When used alongside a selection of prescribed Chinese herbs, it can even be more efficient than many traditional courses of treatment.
Download Our Sheets - Living With The Seasons in Chinese Medicine
Are You A Practitioner?
Please visit the Chinese Medicine Professionals Shop to get PRO sheets for your clinic that you can share with patients. Yay!
Traditional Chinese Herbs: Can They Work for People with Asthma?
By Sally Perkins
Asthma affects 1 in 3 people, and there are more than 25 million Americans living with the condition. Loss of productivity, health costs, and absences are some of the effects of asthma attacks among those who are affected. Standard treatments include corticosteroids and beta-2 antagonists, and theophylline. Unfortunately, steroids can have unwanted side effects and significant risks as they tend to be overprescribed to treat attacks. Another option is to use natural alternatives which are as effective as steroids without causing side effects.
Chinese Herbs for Asthma
Dr. Xiu-Min Li, a pediatric immunologist, and her team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York have been studying and proving the efficacy of traditional Chinese herbs for asthma. The nonsteroidal blend of herbs called ASHMI or anti-asthma herbal medicine intervention consists of reishi, gancao or Chinese licorice, and ku shen or shrubby sophora. ASHMI has broad therapeutic effects increasing cortisol production, preventing smooth muscle contraction, and regulating the activity of immune cells.
The placebo-control trial results demonstrated significant improvements in lung function and immune function. Hence, ASHMI may be an effective future treatment and/or prevention for allergic asthma according to a 2013 editorial in Clinical & Experimental Allergy. It improves lung function, reduces the symptoms, and results to decreased use of beta2-agonist for dilating bronchial tubes or air passages. Furthermore, there are no adverse effects on adrenal function and no immune suppression.
Robina Weermeijer
Controlling Environment Factors
In addition to the use of natural remedies to treat flare-up or prevent episodes, controlling the environment is also an important factor in asthma management. First, identify asthma triggers so that you know when to stay away from them. For example, mould spores in the air can provoke allergic reactions that can set off an asthma attack as mites and mildew that may be found on walls, beddings, or furniture.
Hence, it is vital to properly allergy-proof your home from black mould and keep triggers at bay. Check if mould and spores exist in your heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC), bathrooms, basements, or other humid spots in your property. Ensure that the environment is dry and free from moisture and remove mould that you see immediately using homemade or commercially prepared solutions. Request a mould inspection visit if you suspect that your environment is contaminated.
Asthma attacks and symptoms are uncomfortable and could even cause death if not treated properly. In addition to standard treatments, natural remedies such as using Chinese herbs offer a safe future alternative to managing the chronic condition.
Download Our Sheets - Living With The Seasons in Chinese Medicine
Are You A Practitioner?
Please visit the Chinese Medicine Professionals Shop to get PRO sheets for your clinic that you can share with patients. Yay!
Can Chinese Medicine Help People with Autism?
By Sally Perkins
Around one in 68 children in the U.S. have autism, and following a diagnosis of their child, parents consider a wide range of options that includes educational interventions and, at times, alternative approaches. Among the many natural approaches utilized with autism, one of the most often discussed is Chinese medicine. Relatively few studies have been conducted on the efficiency of this approach, but those that have been carried out show promising and positive findings for specific symptoms and behaviours.
Herbal Medicine Treatment for Children with Autism
Parents of children with autism often turn to traditional therapies, including behavioural treatments such as applied behaviour analysis (ABA), occupational therapy, and the Early Start Denver Model. Each child or adult with autism has unique talents and challenges, though, and for some parents, combining one or more of these therapies with Chinese medicine has been useful. A 2017 review of existing research on the efficiency and safety of herbal medicines for the treatment of autism found that when used alongside conventional therapies, the use of Chinese medicine in relieving symptoms led to a significant improvement of the patient's Child Autism Rating Scale (CARS) score.
Commonly Used Herbs
Some of the herbs which are commonly used to reduce autism symptoms include Poria cocos, Panax ginseng, Acorus gramineus, Schisandra chinensis, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis. These herbs have been studied in different settings. For instance, Acorus gramineus has been found to have a sedative effect, as has Poria cocos. Researchers have stated that these herbs may aid in the reduction of some behaviours as well as inattention. However, they added that further research would be required to demonstrate the specific behaviours that each herb could address, and to see if polyherbal formulations could wield similar benefits.
The Use of Ukgansangajinpibanha Granule in Children with ASD
One small trial currently being led by S Haeng Lee is focusing on the efficiency of Ukgansangajinpibanha (UGSJB – a legitimately prescribed herb for nervousness, insomni, and night crying) in the treatment of children with ASD. The trial is set to conclude at the end of this year. Currently, the trial has already established that this herbal treatment can reduce aggressive behaviour by suppressing the excess activity of a particular neuron type in the hippocampus. It has also been found to successfully reduce anxiety and insomnia.
Acupuncture for ASD
A review report by academics at Cochrane has found that needle acupuncture might be linked to an improvement for people with ASD, specifically in the area of communication, linguistic ability, cognitive functioning, and global functioning. Other small studies have limited the success of acupuncture to cognitive and global functioning alone. Two additional studies, on the other hand, showed no benefits for acupuncture when compared to conventional treatment, yet acupressure did seem to lead to small improvements.
Although herbs and acupuncture are considered ‘alternative therapies’ for autism, few studies have been carried out on their efficiency. Those that have been carried out seem to indicate the utility of some herbs, and one current trial is seeking to discover that of UGSJB. Acupuncture does not seem to be too effective overall, but as stated by the Cochrane scientists, this may be because we have only a small number of studies to rely on, and all of these have been carried out on children. Further research, therefore, needs to be conducted to see whether or not acupuncture can make a positive difference in the treatment of ASD.
Featured image photo by:
Download Our Sheets - Living With The Seasons in Chinese Medicine
Are You A Practitioner?
Please visit the Chinese Medicine Professionals Shop to get PRO sheets for your clinic that you can share with patients. Yay!