preview

Essay about Traditional Chinese Medicine

Better Essays

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 …show more content…

As cold enters further into your body it will eventually reach your internal organs. To much cold in the internal organs can cause “diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pains, and intestinal noises” (Reid 37). Inner cold, not related to weather conditions, is caused by insufficiency of yang energy. Deficiency of yang energy can occur when you eat too many “cold” foods (Reid 37-9). “Wind animates the body, stirring it from repose into motion just as wind moves the leaves of a tree” (Cohen 39). The first symptoms of wind disorders are tics and twitches, as well as headaches and a stuffy nose. If wind further infiltrates the body you may experience seizures, ringing of the ears, and dizziness (Cohen 39-41). Dampness usually occurs in the late summer and can be contracted by exposure to rain or water and or living in damp climates. Symptoms range from sluggishness to “oppressive sensations in the chest”. Inner dampness, caused by drinking too much alcohol and eating an excess of sweet and greasy food, has symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea (Reid 38). Dryness is associated with the season of autumn. There is warm dryness and cool dryness. If dryness is contracted in early autumn, it is called warm dryness because the time is closer to summer. If the dryness is contracted in late autumn it is called cool dryness because it is closer to winter time. Warm dryness exhibits the typical dry symptoms; dry mouth, nose, and

Get Access