Syndrome differentiation and treatment:
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that skin problems are related not only to the influence of external factors but also to the health of the body's fluids, functions and its emotional status. The lung is the organ which nourishes and controls the skin. The lung controls the opening and closing of the pores to regulate sweating. Our skin functions as a superficial lung in our body. In winter, not only is the skin sensitive to dryness but also the lung should not be exposed to extensive air-conditioning. So, entering autumn and winter, we get thirstier. If your skin is dry and has fine lines, you might have a yin (cold energy) deficiency, accompanied with a dry mouth, dry eyes and dry bowel movements.
Herbal remedies that address these internal problems can help the skin to heal from inside. The benefit of TCM treatments is that they don't just treat the symptoms of dry skin but the cause from the inside of your body. This prevents the symptoms from returning. One of the famous ingredients in Chinese herbal remedies for dry-skin care is wolfberry (gouqi). It is the fruit of two species of box thorn. Wolfberries nourish and tone the fluids of the liver, kidneys and blood.
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.
