The main clinical manifestations of allergic rhinitis (“hay fever”) are nasal congestion, a watery nasal discharge and sneezing. In a few cases it affects the eyes and the conjunctiva may become red and itchy. In 20% of cases there is also asthma in conjunction with the rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis is due to an antigen-antibody reaction … Read More
BREAST CANCER AND WESTERN MEDICINE Most breast cancers are adenocarcinomas (cancer of epithelial tissue). There are many variants according to histology, with varying prognosis. For example, inflammatory carcinomas (characterized by erythema heat and oedema) have a worse prognosis than others. This ties in with the Chinese medicine view as they would be those characterized by … Read More
CONFUCIAN ASPECTS OF MODERN CHINESE SOCIETY AND POLITICAL SYSTEM Confucianism as a socio-political system Confucius is the Latinized name of Kong Zi or Master Kong. His family name was Kong and his personal name was Jiu. He was born in 531 BC in the state of Lu, in southern Shandong. His ancestors had been members … Read More
Origin of Blood Blood is derived mostly from the Gu Qi (Food-Qi) produced by the Spleen. The Spleen sends Gu Qi upwards to the Lungs, and through the propelling action of Lung-Qi, this is sent to the Heart, where it is transformed into Blood. The ALing Shu@ says in chapter 18: AThe Stomach is in … Read More
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It helps one deal with a tense situation in the office, study harder for an exam, focus on an important speech. In general, it helps one cope. But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it has become a disabling disorder. 1. ANXIETY IN WESTERN … Read More
“Men” is a common symptom in Chinese medicine. The Chinese character shows a door and a heart inside it. Thus, it would seem to indicate a heart constricted by a door closing on it. I translate this symptom as “a feeling of oppression of the chest”. Men is very difficult to translate and my translation … Read More
When we study the pathology of the Internal Organs, for the Spleen, we generally emphasize Spleen-Qi deficiency and Spleen-Yang deficiency. This is understandable as these two patterns are indeed extremely common. By contrast, when it comes to the Stomach, we do mention Stomach-Yin deficiency. In fact, some people say that this is a well-known contradiction: … Read More
Heat and the 4 Levels Heat is an extremely common pattern in practice and it is therefore very important that we understand its aetiology, pathology, diagnosis, patterns and treatment. To give an idea of the frequency of Heat in practice, in my clinic in England in a database of over 2500 patients, 46% had a … Read More
A previous Clinical Tip discussed acupuncture to address Dampness and Phlegm and it started with a reference to ST-40 Fenglong. It seems therefore appropriate to discuss the clinical use of the point ST-40 Fenglong. As I said in the previous Clinical Tip, whenever I mention ST-40 in the course of my lectures, everybody associates it … Read More
When I give lectures I often hear that “ST-40 resolves Phlegm”: I wish! Resolving Phlegm involves much more than simply using ST-40. In order to resolve Dampness or Phlegm, it is necessary to activate the Three Burners. The Triple Burner is described in the Nei Jing as the official in charge of irrigation: this means … Read More
