In the end I began to question, what is the real difference between the two methods of medical care. There are slight differences, but in the general picture of it all, Chinese and Western medicine are very similar:
Cause of disease in America vs. China
There are several differences between Western and Chinese medicine in terms of what factors cause disease. In America doctors usually diagnose the symptoms of a disease, whereas in China a more holistic approach is taken to diagnose a patient. In the following two paragraphs the way a cold is diagnosed is compared and contrasted between American and China.
In America, a person who comes down with a sickness such as a cold would wait until the cold got unbearable to see the doctor. Upon seeing the doctor, the nurse would first take the patient’s blood pressure and temperature and then ask them how long they had been sick for. Then the doctor would examine the patient and make the final prognosis for the sickness. The doctor would then prescribe the patient with the correct medicine. The medicine usually prescribed for a person with a cold depends on the severity of the cold, and other symptoms that the patient has, such as a bad cough or sinus problems. The medication usually treats the symptoms of the sickness, such as antibiotics to destroy bad bacteria that collect in the lungs or sinus infections. The medication is usually only focused on the area of the disease. The main cause of the sickness is therefore from the area on the body that the symptoms appear: a cough is a problem with the lungs; a runny nose is a problem with the nasal passage.
In China however, when someone has a cold they can go immediately to the traditional Chinese medicine clinic. People may go to the doctor even if their sickness is not severe, because the treatment is often very therapeutic and has very little side effects. If someone has a cold for example, the treatment is often moxibustion, a heat focused therapy, and massage. The doctor first examines the patient’s tongue and pulse. The coating and shape of the tongue along with the quality and rate of the pulse then determine what is the cause and severity of the disease. The cause of the disease in this case is not even classified as a “sickness” in Chinese medicine; it is just an imbalance of yin and yang in the organs. A cold is sometimes caused by excessive yin or deficient yang syndrome. Often several zang organs are the cause of the unbalance of yin and yang, such as the liver, spleen, heart, etc. The imbalance of yin and yang in these organs is the cause of the disease.
More specifically, the cause for disease in Chinese medicine is based on the imbalance of yin and yang, qi, and essence. Whereas the main cause for disease in America is based on bad bacteria, viruses, and other scientific-based factors.
In Chinese medicine the causes for disease are called the pathogenic factors. Pathogenic factors of disease are organized into six categories: exogenous pathogenic factors, endogenous pathogenic factors, pathological products, and others based on the origin.
Exogenous pathogenic factors arise from nature and attack the body from the outside by entering the mouth and nose. The two exogenous pathogenic factors are the six excesses and pestilential qi. In very general terms, the six excesses result from the extreme change in the six qi: wind, cold, summer-heat, dampness, dryness, and heat. Pestilential qi is also called poisonous qi and causes diseases through air, food, bites by insects and animals, dermal contact, etc. Pestilential qi causes very serious diseases such as plague, cholera, smallpox, and AIDS. Factors that cause pestilential qi are abnormal climates, environmental and food pollution, lack of strict preventative measures, and social conditions such as poverty and war.
Endogenous pathogenic factors are focused on factors that cause internal injury caused by the seven emotions, improper diet, overstrain and overuse. The seven emotions are joy, anger, worry, anxiety, sadness, fear, and fright. These emotions cause disease only when they appear abruptly, are angry or excessive, and prolonged. The seven emotions affect the functioning of the five zang organs: heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, and the lungs. Improper diet – not eating healthy foods with the proper nutrients for survival will cause harm to the stomach and spleen. Under eating and overeating will also cause disease. Excessive intake of cold and hot food, bitter, sweet, salty, sour, etc. causes an imbalance of yin and yang and can also cause harm to one’s health. Overstrain and overuse are characterized by overexertion, mental overstrain, and sexual overstrain, all of which cause diseases and harm to the body.
Pathological products are focused on metabolic disorders related to qi, blood, and body fluids. The three kinds are phlegm-fluid retention, stagnant blood, and calculus. Phlegm-fluid retention is when there is an excess of phlegm and fluids in the body that often have trouble exiting the body. It causes disease by blocking circulation of qi and blood, and affects the function of the five zang organs. Stagnant blood is caused by abnormal blood flow or blood. It can cause blood clots and thus cause other problems and disease in the body. It is caused by deficiency of qi, qi stagnation, fluid consumption, and phlegm-turbidity. Calculus is a mineral-like mass in the body. It is caused by dysfunction of the liver and kidney.
Chinese medicine is very similar to Western medicine at the fundamental level. The root of disease is anything in excess or deficiency, such as lack of nutrients, or eating too much unhealthy food. The specific differences between Chinese and Western medicine is the vocabulary used to explain concepts and causes of disease, such as “yin and yang imbalance” vs. “too little or too much of something”. Qi in Chinese medicine is similar to Atoms in Western medicine, at its root, but of course they have many differences in details. In the specific perspective of medicine, Western medicine and Chinese medicine are very different. The cause of disease in Western medicine is much more scientific than Chinese medicine, and based less on spiritual beliefs.
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