Questions on Part II

Dear Dr. Miraculous Hands,

1. Infantile Diarrhea

Do the formulas listed in this chapter also apply for diarrhea for adults?

2. Hyperplasia of Prostate

Is this the same as Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) ? I learn from published information that a western herb named "saw palmetto" can be used for prevention of BPH ? Do you have this herb in China or any equivalent or better herbs which can be used for disease prevention.

3. Chronic Eczema and Neurodermatitis.

Both diseases have some common syndromes such as skin itching and drying. In reviewing the formulas: Xiao Shengzhen Tang for Chronic Eczema and Si Wu Xiao San for Neurodermatitis for syndrome of dryness, I find six common ingredients between the two formulas. My question is " Is there any potential risk for the patient health if he or she uses wrongly Si Wu Xiao San for Nerodermatitis or Si Wu Xiao San for Chronic Eczema ?"

4. Alopecia Areata

I am skeptical of the effectiveness of any herbs or medicine about the treatment of this baldness disease. Do you have any evidence that the herb formulas listed in the text can cure the disease ?

5. Overweight and Underweight Diseases

These are common diseases but they are not discussed in the text.

For long-term treatment of overweight disease caused mainly by dampness, I assume that we can use herbs ( or yang tonic foods) for dampness elimination. For long-term treatment of underweight caused by internal hot and dryness, I assume that we can use herbs for producing body fluids as well as reducing frequent urination (by large amount). Do you have any specific formulas for treatment of these diseases ?. I appreciate any comments you might have.

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Nam Le

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 9:08 am    

Dear Nam Le,
It's my pleasure to discuss here your questions on Medboo!

1). The formulas in the text are also helpful to the diarrhea of adults but you should notice the dosage of each herb, certainly for adults, they should be larger.

2). Personally I think it's the same!
But I have no idea about the "saw palmetto" and I think there are enough Chinese herbs in China, so probably nobody in China would have noticed the western herb.
Chinese pink herb, plantain seed, anemarrhena, Chinese yam, dogwood fruit etc. can be used to prevent the disease.

3). No, no risk at all. It seems you didn't quite catch the essence of traditional Chinese medicine, I think you'd better to review the course B.
To treat diseses in terms of traditional Chinese medicine, what is the most important is to do the diffrential diagnosis of syndromes!!! If you make a right decision what a syndrome the patient is suffering from, it doesn't matter what a disease is, you can choose the formula.
So, if the Chronic Eczema and Neurodermatitis are in the same syndrome, why don't we use the same formula?
Please do remember what I said about the review of course B, in fact I suggest to you several times before.

4). Personally I don't have any evidence the formulas in the text could be beneficial to the treatment of Alopecia Areata, but in traditional Chinese medicine, there are many ways to treat one disease. When one fails, there are some more. I would treat this disorder with acupuncture. Why don't you try the formulas in the text yourself?

5). Overweight was not really considered as a disease while underweight, could be understood as a manifestation in some other diseases e.g. diabetes mellitus. In my persona opinion, both overweight and underweight could be treated by means of regulating the functions of spleen.
If you think the internal heat and dryness is contributory to the underweight, I don't think the termnology "use herbs for producing body fluids as well as reducing frequent urination (by large amount)" is a right one in traditional Chinese medicine. So, here again, I suggest you to review the course B.

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miraculous hands

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 5:21 am