Therapies - Herbal Medicine

What is Chinese Herbal Medicine?
Chinese herbal medicine is one of the great herbal systems of the world, with an unbroken tradition going back to the 3rd century BC. It along with the other components of Chinese medicine is based on the concepts of Yin and Yang. It aims to understand and treat the many ways in which the fundamental balance and harmony may be undermined and the ways in which a person's Qi or vitality may be depleted or blocked.

What can Chinese Herbal Medicine treat?
Chinese herbal medicine is successfully used for a very wide range of conditions. Among the more commonly treated disorders are:

Skin disease
including eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, urticaria

Gastro-intestinal disorders
including irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, ulcerative colitis

Gynaecological conditions
including pre-menstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhoea, endometriosis, infertility

Hepatitis and HIV
some promising results have been obtained for treatment of Hepatitis C, and supportive treatment may be beneficial in the case of HIV

Chronic fatigue syndromes
whether with a background of viral infection or in other situations

Respiratory conditions
including asthma, bronchitis, and chronic coughs, allergic and perennial rhinitis and sinusitis
Rheumatological conditions (e.g. osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis)

Urinary conditions including chronic cystitis

Psychological problems (e.g. depression, anxiety)

Children's diseases

Many of these conditions, especially in their chronic forms, create great difficulty for conventional medicine, whilst Chinese herbal medicine has a great deal to offer. The results that can be expected and the length of treatment required will depend on the severity of the condition, its duration, and the general health of the patient.

Who can have treatment?
Chinese medicine can be used by people of any age or constitution. Your practitioner will take any previous or current illness or medication into account before providing treatment. With suitable adjustments for dosage and with some provisos which will be determined by your practitioner, children and pregnant women can very well be treated by Chinese medicine.

Are herbs safe?
Chinese herbs are very safe when prescribed correctly by a properly trained practitioner. Over the centuries doctors have compiled detailed information about the pharmacopoeia and placed great emphasis on the protection of the patient. Allergic type reactions are rare, and will cause no lasting damage if treatment is stopped as soon as symptoms appear.

Herbal Medicine and Modern Pharmacology
Chinese Herbal medicine is distinct from medicine based on pharmaceutical drugs.

Firstly, because of the complexity of plant materials it is far more balanced than medicine based on isolated active ingredients and is far less likely to cause side-effects.

Secondly, because herbs are typically prescribed in combination, the different components of a formulae balance each other, and they undergo a mutual synergy which increases efficiency and enhances safety.

Thirdly, herbal medicine seeks primarily to correct internal imbalances rather than to treat symptoms alone, and therapeutic intervention is designed to encourage this self-healing process.

What should I expect on my first visit?
The TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner will ask you questions about your medical history and conduct a physical exam to look for signs of imbalance.

He or she will examine your skin, tongue, and hair, as well as other parts of your body (from the brightness of your eyes to the colour of your nails), and will check six pulses on each of your wrists. The practitioner will also listen to your voice to assess your shen (spirit), and will work to determine if one or more of your organ networks are affected. He or she will then try to correct any imbalances in your body by providing a combination of the TCM therapies.

What are the herbs like?
Herbs are now available in a number of formats, both traditional and modern. The traditional method is to boil a mixture of dried herbs to make a tea or to use pills. The herbs are also now commonly prescribed as freeze dried powders or tinctures. The “herbal tea” will at first taste unusual and often bitter to anyone who has not tried them before, but the vast majority of people get used to the taste very quickly.

Can I successfully combine the use of Chinese herbs or acupuncture with other therapies?
Chinese herbal formulae combine very well with other therapies. They are most often combined with acupuncture of course. Chinese herbal treatment also combines well with other complementary therapies, such as massage or reflexology. Chinese herbal formulae can also be combined with conventional treatments. An example is the use of Chinese herbs to strengthen immunity and reduce side effects during chemotherapy for cancer.