It is important to grasp that one cannot understand Traditional Chinese Medicine by trying to explain it in Western scientific or medical terms. The ancient Chinese physicians developed a system of medicine that has survived for over three thousand years. Chinese medicine is complete within itself but that it is based on physiological concepts, theories regarding cause of disease, methods of diagnosis, and principles of treatment that are completely different from the western way of viewing the body.
One way to understand how two medical systems can view the body differently without one system being “right” and the other system being “wrong” is to use the analogy of a map. For example, compare a road map and a topographical map of the city of Waco. Both maps represent the same area, but they do so in very different ways. As long as both maps are based on accurate information, serve as useful tools for their intended purposes, and have been created with self-consistent logic,
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Western medicine is like the road map. Depending on the size and scale of the map, a road map can offer very detailed representation of countries, states, counties, cities, neighborhoods, and even individual buildings. If you were using a map to select the shortest route to an appointment across town, you would choose one with quite a small scale and then you would disregard parts of the map that did not pertain the roads and highways that you plan to use. This is similar to the way that Western medicine views the body – as a collection of distinct parts (organs, tissues, cells) that can be taken apart and considered in isolation. Diagnosis and treatment of disease in Western medicine involves using signs, symptoms, and various diagnostic tests to pinpoint the disordered part(s) of the body and then counteract these signs and symptoms with medications, surgery, or other
When caring for Taoist’s patients, the most important thing to remember is their need to restore balance. For them, this may not be achieved through traditional medical practice; however, this does not mean that we should do nothing. Taoists do not believe in artificial or arbitrary healing. Healing must be natural and spontaneous (Tai, 2009). If we try to force medical treatments on them, it may in turn do more harm than good and cause great suffering. Taoists see artificial treatment as a source of evil; however, if the treatment follows the flow of Tao, it is regarded as natural and therefore allowed (Tai, 2009). For example, if a Taoist patient is in need of mechanical ventilation to sustain life, it is no longer natural. The only way to natural care for that patient, without disrupting the Tao, is to provide palliative care and ultimately let the
The first reason for supporting alternative medicine is because it’s effective. In fact, Traditional Chinese medicine has been used for more than 5,000 years with proof of its effectiveness (Sutton, 2010, 95). In addition, TCM has punch of methods for treating patient's widely such as herbs and other (Sutton, 2010, 94-95). That means alternative medicine has proved its worth and won people’s respect.
Medicine within the Chinese culture is often being used to cure sickness and infection and to raise the forte of the frail and elder people (Purnell, 2013).
The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine by Ted J. Kaptchuk is a non-fiction book describing the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine and how it compares to Western medicine. This book does not focus on a specific time period or regions where Chinese medicine is practiced. Rather, it centers on the logic behind Chinese medicine. After studying Chinese medicine in Macao, Ted Kaptchuk returned to America and realized that he could not abandon what he learned just because it was different from Western medicine. Chinese medicine is over two thousand years old and textbooks have dated back to the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-220 C.E). These texts will continue to adapt, just as traditions adapt over time. Chinese medicine is still
The traditional Chinese treatment of acupuncture is an affective alternative medicine that has been around for thousands of years. Acupuncture is one of the most researched and documented alternative medicines around (Acupuncture). Although a vast majority of people believe Western medicine is the only cure to sickness, many people benefit from acupuncture everyday. Most people disregard the ancient art all together without giving it a chance because are scared of the needles it involves. Also, since no accurate scientific explanation of how and why it works has been found, people shy away from it. The healing powers of the body are taken to a whole different level with this alternative medicine.
As described by Dr. Atul Gawande in his book Complications, medicine “is an imperfect science, an enterprise of constantly changing knowledge… fallible individuals” making medicine different from other scientific fields
Nowadays, medicine is tested and approved before it hits the market. Back in the days a person would pass treatments through word of mouth and could seriously injure or make the disease worse. People in historical times would believe that illnesses involved certain spiritual, psychological and social aspects of a person. This was back in the time where there was no scientific evidence that traditional medicine could aid an affected person. Traditional medicine has been around much longer than modern medicine and they were an important part of recorded history. People back in the old days had to dispel and challenge folklore with scientific evidence. Doctors back in the old days had to not only find a way to dispel folklore, but also get ordinary people to listen to them and to help them believe in their practices. Without all of these people, medicine would be nowhere near as it is
Wang Qing-ren (1763-1831) was a famous physician of traditional Chinese medicine during the Qing Dynasty. He wrote the Yi Lin Gai Cuo (Correcting the Errors in the Forest of Medicine), his only published work, which first appeared in print in 1830 just a year before he died. Since then, it has been re-published numerous times in China, Japan and Korea, and is considered “one of the most reprinted books in all of Chinese medicine” (Minehan, 2007). The book was found to be controversial because it challenged many long-held beliefs in Traditional
In China they have about 1.3 billion people, making up a little more than 20% of the world’s population. It’s no surprise that with that many people in one country that the culture there would hold many different beliefs and traditions. Chinese are known for many things and their health care practices are one of them. They use different medicines to treat the ill, have different techniques to insure that women have a good pregnancy and a healthy baby as well as old family traditions from how a family is ran to what they do when someone passes away. A lot of these traditions can compare to other cultures where many are also so different it takes some understanding to get used to them.
The complex structure and foreign nature of Tibetan medicine makes it difficult to relate its practices to Western medicine, making it difficult to determine the clinical efficacy of Eastern medical practice. Several clinical analysis studies have recently been performed in order to determine the efficacy of the “holistic” practices of Eastern cultures. Whether the studies show Eastern or Western practices to be more effective, I believe that the most effective treatment should be a combination of both practices.
The practice of traditional medicine among the people of Nigeria in the Western region of Africa transcends the advent of Bio-Medicine and occupies a prominent position in the delivery of health care.
TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, can be traced as far back as 1000 BC, where stone acupuncture needles were believed to be used. Texts from that period also talked of Yin and Yang and other concepts. The first written work on TCM is titled the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, Huangdi Newijing (Gascoigne 11). This book was written in 300 BC, but entries date back to the early 2700’s BC. The book is still used in universities of Chinese Medicine around the world and is often called the bible of TCM. Today, TCM is still thriving in China and all of Asia. In recent years, information on TCM has become available to people in the United States. The United States has several schools of TCM, and it is now much easier to buy the necessary
One important aspect of Chinese culture is Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM. Chinese medicine has been around for quite awhile, and is still around today. In the United States, we see it as acupuncture and massage. TCM is still widely popular in its home country where it is still practiced as it was a few centuries ago. Chinese medicine is evolving to our modern day times, but it is keeping close ties to its roots. Chinese medicine is also becoming more affluent in different parts of the globe. It is a major part of Chinese history and culture, and the people who participate in it do so with great respect. With Chinese medicine, there is great history, procedures, risks, and how it lives in the modern world.
Traditional medicine, also known as conventional medicine, relies on scientific principles, contemporary technologies as well as scientifically proved methodologies for purposes of preventing, diagnosing, and treating adverse medical conditions (Treweek &Heller, 2006). Health care professionals within conventional medicine believe that diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses
Because of these stigmas many people live on the streets and are not properly taken care of. Sometimes they are left to fend for themselves and their families disown them because they think there is something too wrong with them. Sometimes people are sent to asylums and forgotten about—as happened to Zhu Ancheng (Foreign Policy, 2015). His family sent him away when he started hearing voices and did not listen to him. Pang Jianwen’s family restrains him when he starts to hear the voices. These families do not fully understand what is happening to their family member, and the things they do are not meant maliciously, but there are more helpful and impactful ways to help people with mental illness.