I wrote this as a comment on a friends blog, but thought I'd re-post it here as well:
1. There is no magic point prescription to prevent getting sick. One has to look to the individual constitution and support the deficiencies and resolve accumulated stagnations to promote health and wellness, harmonize ying and wei and boost yang/wei qi, etc. We are treating individuals who get sick, not sickness/illness.
2. Why do you want to prevent getting sick? I think most people will be shocked by this question. But the reality is that getting sick (and we are talking about external invasions) provide a very valuable opportunity to the bodymind to release accumulated stagnations. An example of this is chickenpox. I won’t get into the vaccine debate here, but according to classical Chinese medicine and pediatrics, children are born with inherited toxins from there parents. It is the exposure to a virus that allows for the release of this toxicity. And if handled appropriately, the child becomes stronger and healthier after the illness. I believe this to not be limited to pediatric infectious diseases. Of course, we are not talking about the reckless behavior that gets people sick, but why are we all so paranoid about getting the flu? You just might be healthier on the other side of it……
acupuncture in new jersey
Showing posts with label pediatrics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pediatrics. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Friday, November 2, 2007
"Hand of Hope"
An amazing picture that I just came across. Perhaps others have seen this before, but I thought I'd post it just in case you haven't. A surgery was done on this fetus to correct spina bifida at 21 weeks gestation. The fetus/baby, as you can see, reaches through the incision and grabs the doctor's finger. Pretty cool....
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sleep Your Way Back to Health
Check out this article on just how important sleep is to the health of our children.
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Four Examinations, Part 3 (Pediatrics: Diagnosing Children with Chinese Medicine)
PEDIATRIC DIAGNOSIS – WIND, QI AND LIFE GATES
In pediatrics, we have this problem in that we can’t really palpate the way we palpate adults. So we have a very special diagnosis, which is part of the Looking diagnosis for children. And we look at a vein on the index finer. This is only good for children under the age of 3, because after that the area in this space thickens. Basically, we look at this vein (lateral side of index finger). Now if you look at your own hand you have all these little joints, phalangeal joints… you stretch the skin and then you rub it 40-50 times (in China they actually use different mediums – ginger based water or water – to act as a medium and magnification). So you rub and you watch to see how far the vein comes up. These are called Gates or Bars. This (proximal joint) is called the Wind Gate or Bar. The middle one is called the Qi Bar or Gate. And the distal one is the Life Bar or Gate. Wind, Qi or Life.
As you massage, the vein becomes more distended. How much it rises gives you your prognosis. If it rises just a little past the Wind Bar, the diagnosis is mild, external Wind attack. The prognosis is very good. If it goes up past the Qi Bar, then the diagnosis is usually that the internal Qi has been affected; usually the disease is in the Zang Fu organs – there might be problems with digestion, constipation; there might be more of an organ problem. Still manageable, but more deep. If it goes past the Life Bar, then we have a very serious condition. It just gives us how deep has it penetrated (doesn’t tell us what it is or where it is).
Now in a healthy child this vein is really thinly visible, but it’s visible. Usually pale purple, maybe a little brownish in color. And only in that Wind Bar area. As you massage it, if it goes up, you’re developing a pathogen interiorly. If it turns more red, it usually indicates more heat. Green or blue indicates more cold. If it turns black, that’s usually blood stasis.
In pediatrics, we have this problem in that we can’t really palpate the way we palpate adults. So we have a very special diagnosis, which is part of the Looking diagnosis for children. And we look at a vein on the index finer. This is only good for children under the age of 3, because after that the area in this space thickens. Basically, we look at this vein (lateral side of index finger). Now if you look at your own hand you have all these little joints, phalangeal joints… you stretch the skin and then you rub it 40-50 times (in China they actually use different mediums – ginger based water or water – to act as a medium and magnification). So you rub and you watch to see how far the vein comes up. These are called Gates or Bars. This (proximal joint) is called the Wind Gate or Bar. The middle one is called the Qi Bar or Gate. And the distal one is the Life Bar or Gate. Wind, Qi or Life.
As you massage, the vein becomes more distended. How much it rises gives you your prognosis. If it rises just a little past the Wind Bar, the diagnosis is mild, external Wind attack. The prognosis is very good. If it goes up past the Qi Bar, then the diagnosis is usually that the internal Qi has been affected; usually the disease is in the Zang Fu organs – there might be problems with digestion, constipation; there might be more of an organ problem. Still manageable, but more deep. If it goes past the Life Bar, then we have a very serious condition. It just gives us how deep has it penetrated (doesn’t tell us what it is or where it is).
Now in a healthy child this vein is really thinly visible, but it’s visible. Usually pale purple, maybe a little brownish in color. And only in that Wind Bar area. As you massage it, if it goes up, you’re developing a pathogen interiorly. If it turns more red, it usually indicates more heat. Green or blue indicates more cold. If it turns black, that’s usually blood stasis.
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