Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Boiling Herbs - Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing Part 3

Some people have told me that I'm being too graphic and that my readers don't want to hear about my sinuses or phlegm production. They are probably right - but that doesn't mean I'm going to completely scale back. I'll parse my judgement through the filter of someone that I trust (Veronica) and you'll end up with my slightly toned down, yet fully detailed reports on my treatments.

I'm almost finished with my first regiment of herbs and nasal irrigation and its definitely working. My reactions are getting smaller and smaller and between treatments I'm more clear than ever before. Boiling and smelling the herbs doesn't really seem to do much, but the irrigation itself is where the magic happens.

chinese traditional medicine herbs
At my last visit the doctor threw in some acupuncture to the normal massages. It was similar to some that I'd had done in the states, although that was to treat my feet. It's really interesting how Eastern medicine sees this all as related. All of my US doctors compartmentalized my problems.

I'm really interested to see if any new healthcare reform back in the states involves better, more simplified tracking of medical records. I'm always a little concerned when I switch doctors and the new doctor asks me about my medical history. Usually I'm pretty good about getting my records forwarded to my new office and I like to think my memory is strong, but ultimately, it can't be that good to diagnose anything without a better understanding of the whole picture.

Chinese medicinal theory may not have to apply to the same standards, as the initial exam by most TCM doctors includes a holistic check up to see what is balanced and out of balance. This is how my doctor here picked up on my hip and feet problems without me even mentioning it. I haven't had a doctor in the states express any interest in secondary or tertiary potentially unrelated symptoms when I've gone in for colds or respiratory issues.

As always, I remain cautiously optimistic.