Questions and Answers about Chinese Herbal Medicine
Q: Are there any other differences?
A: Western folk herbalism usually focuses on one symptom or disease at a time and uses a single herb for treatment.
Chinese herbal formulas are crafted to treat your entire pattern as well as the symptoms of disease. The formulas may include six to eighteen herbs to treat the symptoms or disease as well as your entire pattern.
Q: Are all the “herbs” vegetable in origin?
A: Chinese herbal medicine may include vegetable, animal and mineral ingredients. However, the majority of ingredients are from vegetable sources. Leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, twigs, stems, roots, tubers, rhizomes, and bark are among the parts of the vegetables used.
Q: Do all the herbs come from China?
A: The Chinese adopted and incorporated herbs from all over the world. Fifteen to twenty percent of the 500 ingredients considered standard originated from outside China. What makes these “Chinese” herbs is that they are prescribed according to Chinese medical theory and a TCM pattern diagnosis.
Q: Does Chinese herbal medicine work for Western patients?
A: Yes, Chinese herbal medicine works as well for Westerners as it does for Chinese. Chinese herbal medicine has been used successfully in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and all throughout Asia for centuries.
Q: How are Chinese herbal medicines taken?
A: In China, the most common method of taking Chinese herbal medicine is drinking a decoction, a liquid form which is prepared by boiling the selected herbs. There are also herbal pills, tinctures, and powdered extracts for those who do not have the time or taste for drinking the more traditional liquid form.
Q: What are the benefits of drinking Chinese herb medicines in liquid form?
A: This method allows the practitioner maximum flexibility in writing a prescription. They can put in just what is necessary in just the right amounts. The formula can be changed frequently, if necessary, and the liquid forms tend to be more potent than other means of administration.
Q: Why do liquid herbal medicines taste so bad?
A: Chinese herbal teas tend to taste very bitter because they are made mostly from roots and bark where the strongest medicinal ingredients are found. The bitter taste may go away after a day or two.
Q: What are the benefits of pills and powders?
A: Pills and powders are good for:
• prolonged administration, like for chronic disease
• formulas do not need to be very potent
• formulas do not need to be changed very often.
Pills and powder are also commonly used to continue therapeutic results after a successful initial treatment with liquid herbal medicine.
Q: Does Chinese herbal medicine have side effects?
A: Most of the components of Chinese herbal medicine have very low toxicity compared to even common, over-the-counter Western drugs. When they are prescribed according to a correct TCM pattern diagnosis, they should have few, if any side effects, only beneficial healing results.
If you experience any discomfort while taking Chinese herbal medicine, tell your practitioner who will modify the formula until there are no side effects.
Q: What is Chinese herbal medicine good for?
A: Chinese herbal medicine treats the full range of human disease. It is used to treat:
• acute diseases, like intestinal flu, sinusitis, UTI.
• cardiovascular disorders, angina, poor blood circulation, cholesterol and liver problems
• immunity deficiency, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia.
• gynecological disorders such as PMS, menopause syndrome, ovarian cysts, infertility and post-partum depression.
• chronic diseases, such as allergies, chronic viral infection diseases.
• degenerative diseases due to aging;
Chinese herbal medicine is especially good for promoting the body’s ability to heal and recover from serious illness.
Q: How safe is Chinese herbal medicine?
A: Yes, Chinese herbal medicine has same standard as vitamin supplements in U.S.
Q: Can children take Chinese herbal medicine?
A: Yes again. Pediatrics is a specialty within TCM and children can be given reduced dosages. There are also specially prepared medicines in pill, liquid and powder form. Chinese herbal medicine can treat colic, the fussiness of teething, earache, diarrhea, cough, and fever in babies and children.
Q: How long does it take to see results with Chinese herbal medicine?
A: In acute conditions, results may occur in a matter of hours. In chronic conditions, some results should be seen within two weeks. Although chronic conditions may require taking Chinese herbal medicine for a longer time, signs that the medicine is working should be apparent to the patient and practitioner alike almost from the very start.
Q: How do I know if a practitioner is professionally trained in Chinese herbal medicine?
A: Although Chinese herbal medicines are safe when prescribed by a trained and knowledgeable practitioner, they are strong medicine. Patients should ask about where the practitioner trained, how long the training was, how long he or she has been in practice, and what experience the practitioner has had in treating the patient’s specific ailment.
Chinese herbal medicine may be part of the testing done where acupuncture is a licensed and regulated healthcare profession. Ask your practitioner if your state requires a license to practice; about half the states do. In states that do not currently require licensing, patients should ask their practitioner if they are certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM).
Information for Patients
Q: What is Chinese herbal medicine?
Chinese herbal medicine is the main treatment method within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM is the world’s oldest, continually practiced professional medicine. Its written history stretches back over 2,500 years and its practice is probably much older than that.
Although acupuncture was the first Chinese method of treatment to gain wide acceptance in the West, Chinese herbal medicine is quickly establishing itself as one of the most popular and effective alternative therapies in the West.
Q: What’s the difference between Western herbalism and Chinese herbal medicine?
A: Western fold herbalism primarily treats symptoms such as headaches, runny nose, aching joints, etc.
Chinese herbal medicine, when practiced as a part of TCM, is based on an individualized pattern diagnosis as well as symptoms of diseases. Your pattern is made up of your physical symptoms and signs, your emotional temperament and the overall composition of your entire body.