What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Traditional Chinese medicine is really old, like as old as China itself! If you’re hearing about it for the first time, you might have lots of questions about what it is and how it can help you stay healthy. This short explanation will help you understand it easily.
Traditional Chinese medicine uses four special ways to help people feel better: herbs, acupuncture, body massages, and healthy foods. It also includes exercises called qi-gong and tai-chi that help your body stay strong.
This kind of medicine started over 3,000 years ago. No one person made it up—it came from Chinese people trying to stay healthy. Long ago, they figured out that eating certain plants (now called Chinese herbology), poking tiny needles in the skin (now called acupuncture), eating the right foods (now called food remedies), rubbing the body (now called manipulative therapy), and doing special exercises (like qi-gong and tai-chi) could help them feel good.
Today in China, people use traditional Chinese medicine and modern Western medicine together. There are just as many hospitals for traditional Chinese medicine as there are for Western medicine. Many Chinese people think traditional Chinese medicine is just as good as, or even better than, Western medicine.
You might wonder why we need traditional Chinese medicine when we have modern medicine. Well, some sicknesses that Western medicine can’t fix can be helped by traditional Chinese medicine. For example, acupuncture can make pain go away fast, which Western medicine sometimes can’t do. Also, Chinese medicine is really good at helping with skin problems, liver problems, kidney problems, and other sicknesses.
When you visit a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, they look at your face, check your tongue, feel your pulse, and ask about how you feel, what you eat, and what foods you like. Then, they figure out what’s wrong and decide if you need acupuncture, herbs, or special foods. In China, they use this medicine for almost every kind of problem. Some problems get better with acupuncture, some with herbs, and some with healthy foods. Pain and muscle problems are usually helped by acupuncture, while skin and organ problems are often treated with herbs. The doctor has to check you first to know what’s best for you. Even if a Western doctor says a sickness can’t be fixed, Chinese medicine might still help—it just means Western medicine doesn’t have an answer.
Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine are different. Western medicine often focuses on fixing how you feel right now, like stopping a headache. Traditional Chinese medicine tries to fix what’s causing the problem. Western medicine is great for emergencies and surgeries, but traditional Chinese medicine is better for skin problems, organ problems, and long-lasting sicknesses. Many Western medicines come from tests on animals, which might not work the same for people. But traditional Chinese medicine comes from years of helping real people, so it’s more trustworthy. Western medicines can be strong and cause bad side effects, but Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and food cures are gentler, last longer, and usually don’t cause problems if used right.
Even though they’re different, it’s smart to see a Western doctor to find out what’s wrong, because that can help a traditional Chinese medicine doctor give you the best care.
Traditional Chinese medicine comes from an old book from 300 B.C. called The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. Western medical books get old and outdated fast, but many Chinese medicine books are still used because they’re so wise. Here’s a part from that book, made simple:
“Sicknesses in your body are like a needle stuck in your skin, a dirty spot on a chair, a knot in a rope, or mud blocking a river. You can pull out a needle, clean a spot, untie a knot, or clear mud from a river, no matter how long it’s been there. Some people think a sickness can’t be fixed if it’s been around a long time, but a great doctor can fix it, just like you can pull out a needle, clean a spot, untie a knot, or clear a river. A sickness, even a really old one, can still be fixed, and anyone who thinks it can’t doesn’t really understand acupuncture.”