Syndrome differentiation and treatment:
In Chinese medicine, halitosis is believed to be caused by excess "heat" in the liver and stomach. Since the liver is one of the important organs for the immune system, I believe the "heated" liver probably lowers the immune system and leads to bacterial overgrowth. With my congested liver (which can easily cause "heated" liver), halitosis and painful bleeding gums were my regular problems. People who have their gallbladders removed by surgery or who have gallbladders loaded with gallstones are more prone to liver "heat" because of bile congestion in the liver.
Women who have bad breath problem often experience an increase in bad breath shortly before and during menstruation. This is another indication that the liver plays an important role in halitosis. The liver is the organ that eliminates estrogens. Shortly before menstruation, estrogens are at their highest levels in the menstrual cycle. The liver has to work harder to eliminate the extra hormones. As a result, any weakness in the liver would be intensified.
In Chinese medicine, when treating a disease, the doctors take everything into into consideration, including climatic changes, environmental variations, emotional changes, the diet, the urine and the stool, the sleep, and the disorder of sex life. That is the feature of the Three Pathogens Theory in TCM. This etiology doctrine built on the basis of the macro methodology entirely differs from that of Western medicine. It is on the basis of the microscopic and pathologic anatomy. But it is exactly a biological, psychological, social and new medical model that Western medicine is attempting to pursue. While Chinese medicine established its own system with this medical model two thousand years ago.
Chinese doctor doesn’t considers static anatomy as a starting point for understanding the diseases, and does not rely on detection equipments. On the contrary, Chinese doctor depends on the unique ways of TCM diagnosis to experience and study the human dynamic life information. Also it is based on syndrome differentiation to guide the disease therapy. This method not only can save a lot of examination fees for patients, but also can help doctors exchange with patients more closely, thus reflecting a real humanistic spirit.
