Chinese medication involves the use of herbs, animal parts and minerals. They used it based on taste, action, attributive of meridians, and toxicity.
TCM treatment procedure
Traditional Chinese medication involves the use of herbs, animal parts and minerals. The terminology used in describing the pharmacology of Chinese medicine includes; its property; taste or flavor; action of ascending, descending, floating and sinking; attributive of meridians, and toxicity.
- Its property can be describing in four ways, they are cold, hot, warm, and cool. For example, herbs effective for treating heat syndromes are herbs with cold or cool properties, while herbs effective for cold syndromes are herbs with warm or hot properties.
- Tastes or flavors of herbs are sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty. They are expressing the feature of medicine’s actions not the real taste.
- Action of the medicines describing the direction of action, they are ascending, descending, floating and sinking. The ascending and floating medicines have an upward and outward effect, while descending and sinking medicines have a downward and inward effect. They change the action of a medicine, by processing or combining with other ingredients.
- Attribute of meridians, classifies herbs according to the meridians on which their therapeutic action is manifests.
- Toxicity refers to the harmful effects produced by herbs on the human body. Toxicity are marked by highly toxic, moderately or slightly toxic to indicate the different degrees of toxicity.
A typical medicine is composed of principal, associate, adjuvant, moderate, and messenger ingredients. The principal ingredient is a substance provides the main therapeutic action; associate ingredient is a substance enhances or assists the therapeutic action of the first ingredient; the adjuvant ingredient treats the accompanying symptoms, and moderate ingredient diminishes the harshness or toxicity of the combination; the messenger ingredient guides the medicine to the proper organs.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture believed to normalize qi flow along the pathways (meridians) of the body by puncturing with sharp instrument (thin needles). Any potential disruptions of qi flow are responsible for illness or disease. Acupuncture corrects this disruption of qi flow by inserting a needle at specific acupuncture points.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is useful to treat disease by the application of ignited moxa at acupuncture points. The herb used in moxibustion is mainly Artemisia Vulgaris (mugwort). Moxibustion is generally applicable for conditions associated with cold syndrome, deficient conditions and chronic illness. Moxibustion may be applying in combination with acupuncture or separately for effective treatment.
Qigong
Qigong is the Chinese word; qi means vital energy, and gong means method or performance. Qigong is a method of performing exercise by taking certain posture, breathing and concentrating mind. Qigong is useful for health preservation, prevention and treatment of disease. Qigong works to relax, calm and regulate breathing to accumulate vital energy in the body.