Essay Example on Traditional Chinese Medicine

Key events or figures considered significant in the history of TCM

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The fact that the method treats the cause as well as the symptoms rather than focusing on the later only makes it significant.

The method has zero chances of causing side effects to the patients after the treatment (Burke, Kaptchuk, Lao, & Weber, 2009). This is because it does not entirely rely on the modern pharmaceuticals.

It is very easy to make the medicine and the content if its components are identifiable. This implies that the most abundant compounds constituting the medicine can be established.

The yin yang symbol

The yin yang symbol indicates that there are two sides to everything in the universe, which represents opposite but complementary forces, which must coexist to establish totality and wholeness. When the external conditions in the environment become too much, then there is a deficiency in the human body which is rather known as a disease ("Yin, Yang theory, Universal messages, TCM | TCM World", 2016). There must have a balance between the external and the internal factors in the human environment to ensure wholesome when it comes to human well-being.

The five elements associated with TCM theory and their aspects

Health is a harmonious balance between all the elements in the TCM theory hence a failure in any of the elements has its associated health complications. a. Wood element

People who pose the wood energy are good in decision making with clearly set goals, and who stand by their opinion when they are sure it is valid. When the wood element is weak, people who possess this trait acquire liver problem leading to excessive frustration, bloating and become highly irritated (Hicks, Hicks & Mole, 2011).

Fire Element

People who pose the fire element make good leaders because they are charismatic and good at enforcing laws and maintaining order. When the fire becomes very weak, the associated people with such a character suffer from emotional coldness, nervousness and wells excessive excitement, which causes health complications like heart attack and hypertension (Hicks, Hicks & Mole, 2011).

Earth Element

People with this element trait are good agents of peace. They ensure harmony and peace amongst the people they interact with as well as being very generous. In the case of the fire seizing, these people suffer from digestive complications and diarrhea as well as becoming slow thinkers.

Metal Element

A person whose metal element is strong is one who has their life in order, well-mannered and who familiarizes themselves with the surrounding for their own comfort. In the case of the metal element experiencing some imbalance, these people suffer from lung-related ailments that include asthma and related allergies as well as frequent colds (Hicks, Hicks & Mole, 2011)..

Water Element

Persons whose water energy is strong are fearless people who are strong enough to endure any hardship that comes their way. In the case of this element experiencing some imbalances then the persons suffer kidney related complications: the passing of too much urine, excessive sweating as well as accelerating aging.

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Advantage and disadvantages of isolating compounds compared to ingesting the whole plant.

The benefits of isolating compounds compared to ingesting the whole plant with other chemicals is that the body absorbs the required nutrients much faster as well as saving the digestive system the energy of digesting the fiber, which takes a lot of time to digest (Rasoanaivo, Wright, Willcox & Gilbert, 2011). The fiber, which is discarded reduces the risks weight gain and can harbor other compounds that cause chronic diseases like cancer.

The disadvantages of isolating the needed compound only from the rest of the plant are that the extract is prone to bacteria attack. Again, the fiber, which is disposed of after extracting the needed compound, is very vital when it comes to digestion, removing chemicals from the stomach hence reducing and getting rid of the undigested materials in the stomach (Rasoanaivo, Wright, Willcox & Gilbert, 2011). There is also no scientific proven evidence that the extract is safer or better than its source plant.

Key events and characters in the history of medicine

There has been a tremendous medical advancement in recent years. With increased scientific knowledge and technology that has led to finding a solution to many diseases that were considered chronic. The key events, which have taken place, include the development of the vaccine to prevent hepatitis A, the first vaccine to target a cause of cancer, identification of the HIV and the virus that causes cancer as well as the cloning technology (Ekor, 2013).

The key event experienced are not the same for everyone since the advancement comes with increased expenses which are not affordable to all people .some people are still glued to the traditional forms of remedies hence becoming hard to embrace recent milestones in medicine.

Day6

Use of traditional remedies was very successful back then and there is no way that it has contributed to modern health problems. Most of the modern drugs issued from the hospitals are made from the sources that are used to extract the traditional medicines. The same traditional remedies rarely have side effects to the patients unlike what we are experiencing with the modern remedies.

Why I do not use more herbal medicine

The reason why I do not use more herbal medicine is that there has been an increase of traditional quack healers. These quacks lack sufficient knowledge on the right amount, proportions and the components they are supposed to use when making the medicine. Another reason is that some diseases are beyond the capability of the traditional remedies and require extreme attendance from professional doctors who are using the modern technology to find a lasting solution. More complex and chronic diseases have emerged in the recent years and use of traditional remedies and medicine would only worsen the situation.

Day7

Difference between what is truthful and what has an evidence-base

The difference between what is truthful and what has an evidence base is that if something is considered truthful, then that entirely depends on what the person chooses to believe. It means that the state of the matter while something that has evidence base is a fact that can be touched or heard; something that exists and can be verified.

Why there is little research into traditional remedies

Little research has been conducted into the traditional remedies because they are considered to cause the least harm to the customers hence more efforts put into prescription remedies. Confirming the identity of a traditional herb is a piece of work since a variety of them share names and others have different names across different regions hence making it tedious and effortless to put a lot of resources into it for research work (Firenzuoli & Gori, 2007).

Drivers preventing us from dealing with antibiotic resistance crisis.

The drivers that prevent us from dealing with the crisis of antibiotic resistance effectively is the frequent misuse and overdose of the drugs and medicine where the body becomes accustomed to the drugs and thus can no longer serve their purpose effectively. There has also been low economic incentives and challenging regulatory requirements, which leads to lack of new development for new drugs that can function more effectively and deny approval to medical organizations that wish to carry out research on antibiotics as well as coming up with more of them (Firenzuoli & Gori, 2007). Another reason is the injection of the antibiotics into plants and animal products to prevent their infection by bacteria that later enter the human body after they consume the products.

Contributions of traditional medicine in anti-biotic resistance crisis

Traditional medicine can contribute a lot to curbing the antibiotic crisis. The medicine was only administered to humans only unlike how animals are being injected with the drugs in the modern days hence the human body will comply with the drug. There was also a variety of traditional medicine, which was a perfect way of suppressing the stubborn pathogens (Firenzuoli & Gori, 2007).

Protocols for antibiotics to help manage resistance crisis

The protocols for antibiotics use that would help us manage the crisis include collecting enough data to know what areas are facing these challenges then carry out research to manage the situation. Antibiotics should stop being used in animal produce hence reduced flow into the human body; antibiotics should be administered orally to ensure faster discharge from the body rather than staying in the blood for many days through injection (Firenzuoli & Gori, 2007). People should also practice proper hygiene which reduces the risk of being infected by bacteria hence reduced usage of antibiotic .medical professional should do proper medical prescription to the patients to prevent the resistance.

Conclusion

The traditional remedy was a good method of controlling and treating the various diseases that existed around the time when the method was introduced but with the modern change of lifestyle, new and complex forms of diseases have come up which need advanced technology to be handled perfectly. The new medical technology may have many setbacks, but they are in a better position of handling and keeping in check the many diseases we are experiencing as well as coming up with more advanced antibiotic which will not be resisted by the body.

References

Burke, A., Kaptchuk, T., Lao, L., & Weber, W. (2009). Traditional Chinese Medicine: In Depth | NCCIH. NCCIH. Retrieved 16 October 2016, from https://nccih.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/chinesemed.htm

Ekor, M. (2013). The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 4, 177. http://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2013.00177

Firenzuoli, F., & Gori, L. (2007). Herbal Medicine Today: Clinical and Research Issues. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM, 4(Suppl 1), 3740. http://doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nem096

Hicks, A., Hicks, J., & Mole, P. (2011). Five element constitutional acupuncture. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

Rasoanaivo, P., Wright, C. W., Willcox, M. L., & Gilbert, B. (2011). Whole plant extracts versus single compounds for the treatment of malaria: synergy and positive interactions. Malaria Journal, 10(Suppl 1), S4. http://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-S1-S4

Yin, Yang theory, Universal messages, TCM | TCM World. (2016). Tcmworld.org. Retrieved 16 October 2016, from http://www.tcmworld.org/what-is-tcm/yin-yang-theory/