chinese diagnostic methods

Chinese diagnostic methods

The most distinguishing feature of Chinese medicine is its diagnosis

process. The process is similar to a detective solving a mystery case.

The doctor must accumulate the information regarding all of the

patient's symptoms, and then use the information to diagnose the

patient using the Zan and Fu logic explained earlier.

observe ( w�ng), smell ( w�n), ask about background ( w�n) and

touching ( qi�) are the 4 main diagnostic methods used by Chinese

medicine practitioners. Out of the 4 methods, observation of the

patient is the most important one. An experienced Chinese doctor can

analyze a patient's health condition through looking at the patient's

body shape, hair, face shape, facial features, and skin color.

For example, a person that enjoys cold beverages often times will have

fat deposits underneath the eye area. The area underneath the eye is

the starting point of the stomach meridian. When a person rapidly

drinks a cold beverage, the stomach meridian will be damaged, causing

the corresponding stomach meridian areas near the eye to gradually

swell up. An experienced Chinese doctor will be able to recognize

these appearance traits and use the information towards the diagnosis.

From looking at a person's appearance, a good Chinese doctor can have

a general idea on the body energy level of the patient, as well as the

conditions of the patient's meridians. A thin person whose face is

darker than the rest of his body is often a sign of low body energy. A

fat person will most likely have a clogged pericardium meridian.

Sometimes, a Chinese doctor can even determine the conditions of the

patient's parents. For example, a person with thick dark brows is

usually fast tempered, and such temper can also be found in his

father. Usually a good Chinese doctor can diagnose 70-80% of a

patient's ailment through looking at the patient's appearance alone.

The second diagnostic method, the smell method is also an essential

method in Chinese medicine diagnosis. Patients that suffer from

similar disease will share some similar smells. For example, bad

breath is common amongst patients with stomach ulcer. People that

suffer from kidney diseases will transpire a certain odor. Such odor

is especially noticeable amongst patients that are undertaking

dialysis. A good Chinese doctor will have the ability to distinguish

different types of odors from his patients and use the information

towards his diagnosis.

The third method involves getting an in-depth background search on the

patients' medical history, family history, personal life, and

sometimes information about the patient's character nature. The third

method is conducted after the first 2 methods as it acts as a

confirmation of the information derived from the first 2 methods.

Finally, the touching technique is perhaps the most unique diagnostic

method in Chinese medicine. Chinese doctors use 3 fingers and place

them on the wrist of the patient to feel the pulse of the patient.

This is also the most difficult method for Chinese doctors to master

and often takes years of experience and training. A good Chinese

doctor can recognize several dozens of different pulse patterns.

Through these patterns, a doctor can gauge the patient's present

condition and sometimes even detect illnesses that have not yet

recognized by the patient. In ancient times when there were no medical

diagnostic equipment, pulse diagnosis is one of the best methods of

gathering information on the patient's body. Even today with our

advanced equipment, there are certain illnesses that the pulse

diagnosis excels over other diagnostic methods.

For example, in the detection of pericardial effusion, which is the

abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pericardial cavity, the pulse

diagnosis can easily detect such illness. The pulse pattern of a

patient suffering from pericardial effusion can be easily recognized

even by an amateur Chinese medicine practitioner. Using present day

technology, it is difficult to diagnose a patient with pericardial

effusion. Due to the difference in the size of the heart amongst

different people, the amount of fluid in the pericardial cavity also

varies. Usually pericardial effusion is detected after the patient

feels discomfort, which means that the fluid has already affected the

function of the heart. With pulse diagnosis, when a patient's pulse

pattern shows sign of weakness, the doctor can already predict with

good accuracy that the patient has abundance in pericardial fluid. In

other words, pericardial effusion can be detected earlier with the

pulse diagnosis method.

Using the pulse diagnosis method, most overweight people will be

diagnosed with different level of pericardial effusion. Sometimes

before a person becomes overweight, signs of pericardial effusion can

already be detected. However, compare with modern medicine, only a

small portion of these people will be actually diagnosed with

pericardial effusion, with most diagnosis coming after the patients

felt discomfort. Moreover, with pulse diagnosis, the cause and effect

relationship between obesity and heart illness can be reversed. Modern

medicine can only detect pericardial effusion amongst a small number

of patients that also have overweight problems. Thus, such diagnosis

leads to the conclusion that "Obesity is one of the causes of