Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Patient of the Month
If we had a patient of the month it would be a patient I saw today…
She came in not really knowing how to explain how she was feeling and so she simply blurted out, “I feel damp today,” and then giggled. And then she continued to talk about how she wasn’t sure I would understand what that means, etc. I cut her off immediately because I knew exactly what ‘damp’ feels like. I said, “Is it hard to wake up in the morning after a full nights sleep? Do you feel heavy? Is your head fuzzy and congested? Are you having a hard time remembering things?” She said, “How did you know?” I said, “It’s a classic Chinese medical text book symptom.” I was so excited (in my own dorky acupuncturist way) and she was too because I knew exactly what she was trying to convey to me.
One of the main differences between Western medicine and Chinese medicine is how the Chinese view pathogens. So, in Western medicine we see pathogens that enter our bodies as viruses and bacteria, and of course they are. In Chinese medicine we view viruses and bacterial invasions to the body as weather invasions. So, heat, cold, wind, damp, dry, and summer heat are the 6 pathogens from a Chinese perspective. A cold or flu may look like high fever, sweating, red face, and sore throat, in which case it would be a wind heat attack. Alternatively, a low grade fever, chills, headache, and stiff neck would be a wind cold attack.
Most people have heard of acupuncture and they know that little needles get put in the body, and that it balances your energy. Most people don’t really understand why we acupuncturists do what we do. So, I hope you enjoyed this snip it of information!
