Have you had any experience with traditional Chinese medicine? Do you think it is effective? Some people share their opinions of TCM – and also some experiences. Please feel free to join in!

Motika

Nothing wrong with TCM, East Europe still has herbal pharmacies in use. That is recommended first - then “chemicals” (Western medicine) as a last resort.

Laowai

My wife is a TCM practitioner so that is always the first port of call. However, she does accept that in some cases Western medicine is more effective. Whether you choose Chinese or Western medicine - it can be difficult to know if either was successful as the problem might have cleared up without any connection to the treatment. There is also the placebo effect to consider.

Seneca

Chinese medicine regards the human body as a system that needs constant fine-tuning and medico-chemical measures, so as to avoid contracting diseases, whereas Western medicine treats the human body after the illness or disease starts manifesting itself. As I see it, Chinese people are more likely to take Chinese traditional medicine, herbal teas and observe "cold" or "hot" warnings for food than Westerners. Westerners drink icy-cold drinks in hot weather too often, and this can lead to conditions such as a hoarse voice, inflamed throat, colds, upset stomach, diarrhea.

seanboyce

I have read a lot of studies about the ineffectiveness of many Chinese treatments. The few miracle cases can be put down to statistical anomalies or placebo effect which has been proven to be better than quack medicine in some cases. Chinese medicine really does fail when it comes under the scrutiny of scientific method... Maybe it does work, but I personally don't believe in it.

SDIvester

TCM is difficult but not impossible to find in the US. However, if you go to your local GNC, many supplements on sale contain Chinese herbs or medicine. Many Western medicines are derived from plant-based materials, so TCM does have its place in society.

Aziz

I have had great experiences with Chinese herbal medicine - and acupuncture. My baby daughter was cured by a herbal liquid made by the hospital for a cough - which was about to turn into bronchitis. A US-educated doctor failed to help her with a Western type of injection and medicine. Then the doctor suggested local traditional medicine and - after the sixth day of TCM treatment - all the symptoms had disappeared. But it must be said that anybody would vomit when tasting the liquid - and we had to give to on 8 month-old girl. There are many kinds of herbs - but make sure you are taking advice from a proper doctor, and it is better to collect the medicine from the hospital, as there are lots of fake medicines nowadays.

GhostBuster

Traditional Chinese Medicine needs a more scientific approach. No kind of medicine is a cure for everything. If we could find a way to combine all knowledge of both Eastern and Western medicine – then we could perhaps find a way to cure all diseases. The major difference between Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine is that the former treats an illness or sickness as a component of the entire body’s system, while the latter treats it as a single isolated component. Each condition or disease is best treated by one of these types of medicine. In other words, no single medicine is superior to the other.

Chinese med takes effect at a much slower pace. Unlike Western med, Chinese med needs time to cure a condition. However, you should be careful about using TCM as it is known to contain high levels of mercury.