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Chinese Herbal Medicine
History
Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has a recorded history of 2,000
years of use in China and still retains a strong presence
in health provision in China today. More recently it has become
firmly established in the UK.
Uses of CHM
As with Acupuncture, the possible uses of CHM are wide and
people of any age or constitution can benefit from it. The
following conditions are commonly treated:
Chronic
• Skin disease, including eczema, psoriasis, acne,
rosacea
• Respiratory conditions, including asthma, bronchitis,
and chronic coughs; allergic and perennial rhinitis and sinusitis
• Digestive complaints, including irritable bowel syndrome,
indigestion, ulcerative colitis
• Gynaecological problems, including pre-menstrual syndrome,
painful periods, menopausal syndromes, endometriosis, some
forms of infertility
• Urinary conditions, including chronic cystitis
• Rheumatological conditions, including rheumatoid and
osteo-arthritis
• Headaches and migraine
• Chronic fatigue syndromes
• Hepatitis and HIV: supportive treatment may be beneficial
for HIV
• Some metabolic disorders, including diabetes and thyroid
conditions, may benefit from supportive treatment
• Hypertension
• Allergies
Stress/emotional
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Panic
• Low energy
• Sleep
Preventative/constitutional
Like Acupuncture it can be used for the relief of symptoms
and long term constitutional support which includes the immune
system and preventative medicine.
The treatment
The herbalist on the first visit will take a thorough history
of the complaint, and general health history of the patient.
A combination of herbs will then be prescribed that are individually
tailored to the patient and their condition.
The herbs
The herbs are taken either as a tea made from the raw herbs,
powders or in tablet form. The Chinese material medica contains
several hundred commonly used ingredients including roots,
stems, flowers, leaves and bark together with some non-plant
materials. Endangered plant and animal species are not used.
The herbal suppliers we use are : Mayway UK, Shi Zhen and
Balance Healthcare have strict quality control standards (see
links for company websites).
Other information
The following practitioners are used as consultants:
Ken Lloyd - Herbal clinical supervision
(College of Integrated Chinese Medicine (CICM), Reading)
Giovanni Maciocia www.giovanni-maciocia.com
Peter Mole (Dean of studies – CICM, Reading)
Also, Stanley Kellerman and formative psychology www.centerpress.com
has been influential in shaping our ideas about healing.
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