I believe many TCM enthusiasts have heard of the discriminatory treatment of TCM, which is the main means of diagnosing and treating diseases and the unique medical art of TCM, as well as the essence of TCM.
The level of evidence-based treatment determines the clinical efficacy. So, what exactly is evidence-based treatment?
In Chinese medicine, the diagnosis and treatment is based on the overall concept of the present, collecting information through the four examinations of looking, smelling, asking and cutting, and using the theory and method of Chinese medicine to identify the “evidence” of the disease in its present manifestation.
Then, according to the identified “evidence”, we determine the treatment method, choose prescriptions and medicines, and other treatment methods, and treat the disease according to the changes in the evidence.
What are evidence identification, disease identification, and symptom identification in Chinese medicine? Learn more about these to get started in Chinese medicine
After knowing the process of dialectical treatment, what is “evidence”? What is the difference between it and the “disease” and “symptom” that we often refer to as disease?
▌”Certificate”: refers to the pathological overview of a certain stage in the process of disease development.
It includes the cause of the disease, such as wind-cold, wind-heat, blood stasis, phlegm and drinks, the location of the disease, such as the surface, the interior, a certain organ, a certain internal organs, a certain meridian, etc., the nature of the disease, such as cold, heat, etc., and the relationship between evil and positive, such as deficiency and reality, reflecting the overall situation of the pathological changes at that stage of the disease.
▌”Symptoms”: refers to the “symptoms”, which are the specific clinical manifestations of the disease.
Generally speaking, there are self-conscious symptoms, such as headache, chills, cough, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, chest tightness, abdominal fullness, dizziness, etc., and other symptoms, such as heat in the body and hands, cold extremities, abdominal pressure, yellow eyes, red eyes, bad breath, yellow tongue coating, and stringent pulse, etc.
These two symptoms often exist together, and some cannot be separated, such as abdominal distension, high fever, and accumulation of lumps in the abdomen, which are both self-conscious and other-conscious.
▌”disease”: refers to a complete process with specific etiology, pathogenesis, disease mechanism, development pattern and regression.
It includes a series of symptoms and contains different evidence of various stages. Examples include malaria, measles, asthma, stroke, etc.
As an example.
What is TCM dialectical evidence, disease and symptoms? Understand these and really get started in TCM
Summary of ▌
Evidence is more specific, more relevant and more actionable than disease!
The evidence reflects the essence of the disease better than the symptoms!
Therefore, the central idea is “evidence”, and only with evidence can we legislate, select prescriptions and use medicine.
Therefore, this is the reason why Chinese medicine treats by evidence, not by disease or by symptoms.