Some of the most common ailments treated in our clinic on a daily basis fall under the category of respiratory diseases.  These include:

• common colds;

• allergies;

• asthma;

• emphysema;

• sore throat;

• hoarseness;

• shortness or breath;

• chest tightness;

• chest pain;

• rhinitis;

• sinusitis;

• and acute & chronic bronchitis. 

 

Naturally, each of these problems is treated in different, very specific ways, using acupuncture, Chinese herbs and nutritional advice.  However, the approach used by Chinese Medicine to analyse the causes of these diseases is very unique.

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First of all, unlike Western Medicine, Chinese Medicine does not analyze the exact type of pathogen which has entered the body.  Whether it was a virus or bacteria that caused the cold is not that important in Chinese Medicine.  What is important is analyzing what effect the pathogen has on the body and then treating that problem.  In Chinese Medicine, respiratory diseases are named based on what effect the pathogen has inflicted on the body, and pays little attention to the attacker itself.  Why do we do that?

The simple answer is because the Chinese discovered that the same viral or bacterial invader could create a totally different group of symptoms depending on the constitution and health of the patient.  In other words, the same virus can cause one patient to feel freezing and cold, and another patient to feel red hot with a high fever.  Chinese Medicine treats the patient and the effect of the invader on the patient, and not the invader itself.

This approach opens up all kinds of new possibilities when it comes to medicine. Instead of just a diagnosis of asthma, as we have in Western Medicine, in Chinese Medicine there are several different kinds of asthma.

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