Chinese Pharmaceuticals

It is not the heavens but the human, who directs his life
Those that abuse themselves in young years, die young
While those who treat themselves well, enjoy a long life

Gao Lian, Ming Dynasty

The Chinese tradition of herbal treatments goes back as long as that of acupuncture. As opposed to Europe, where 80% of TCM-therapy is done using acupuncture, therapy in China is dominated by pharmaceuticals, used in 80% of cases, with acupuncture accounting for the remaining 20%. Chinese herbal formulae are customised to meet each individual patient’s diagnostic profile and have more multilayered effects than acupuncture. A combination of acupuncture and herbal treatment is often particularly effective in the treatment of chronic conditions. Rather than treating symptoms, as is widely practiced in the western world, TCM can use its pharmaceuticals to fight diseases at their root.

For example: in TCM, the equivalent of the western diagnosis of “flu”, is described as the ‘intrusion’ of coldness, wind or moisture. The special herbs that are then used to treat a patient with the above diagnosis expel wind from the body, channel the moisture outwards and have a warming effect. Hence it is evident, that the large variety of herbs allows a much more precise reaction to symptoms than e.g. merely reducing fever.

An important aspect of Chinese pharmaceuticals is their safety/integrity. The individual products or granulates sold in Austrian pharmacies are certified and, therefore, should be preferred to products found on the Internet or in grocery stores. It is of great importance to me to make you aware of the fact that Chinese pharmaceuticals are well- tested remedies that should not be used following the “if it’s useless (herbal) then it won’t harm me” principle.

I strongly discourage self-therapy as even ‘harmless’ and widely available herbs such as Radix Ginseng can have nasty side effects if used inappropriately or over long periods of time.