"Facing the once-in-a-pury global
pandemic, it can be said that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has
stood the test," said Tong Xiaolin, an academician with the Chinese
Academy of Sciences and head of the treatment group of the National
Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, at a conference on
medicine and life health held this year in Nanjing. The
Lianhua Qingwen Capsule, Jinhua Qinggan Granule, Lung Detoxification
Decoction and other prescriptions have not only provided powerful
weapons against the epidemic, but also shown the innovation of TCM. TCM helped treat 91.86% of domestic confirmed cases Since
the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China has
suffered from four large-scale epidemics, including COVID-19. While all
four have witnessed TCM offering effective solutions, the role of the
traditional medicine has been particularly important this time. As
of March 30, TCM had been involved in the treatment of a total of
74,886 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up to 91.86% of all cases, noted Tong. The
TCM practitioners hold that the key to combating an epidemic is to
figure out its properties. They found that the novel coronavirus is most
active in wet and cold environments with a temperature between 5℃ and
11℃ and a humidity of between 47% and 79%. Tong
pointed out that if one compared the novel coronavirus to a seed, then
the Western medicine would directly destroy the seed, while TCM instead
devastates the soil on which the seed depended by improving a patient's
overall physical condition. Based on
this philosophy, Tong invented a prescription to undermine the wet and
cold environments favorable to the coronavirus. The prescription has
been included into the Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel
Coronavirus Pneumonia. From February
3 to March 2, a total of 723,000 prescriptions were distributed in
Wuhan, Hubei province, curing more than 50,000 infected persons. The
prescription combined with isolation in communities and online expert
diagnosis formed a set model of epidemic prevention and control. TCM
practitioners have not only played an important role in dealing with
confirmed COVID-19 cases, but also carried out clinical research of the
whole process from prevention to treatment. The study found that with
TCM intervention the death risk of severe and critical cases was reduced
by more than 80%, the reinfection rate by over 10% and the rate of mild
symptoms turning into severe by more than 6%. In addition, the
combination of TCM and Western medicine might help relieve the clinical
symptoms of the disease and cut the usage of anti-infective drugs. TCM
has also mattered in other countries' response to COVID-19. China has
donated finished TCM drugs, decoction pieces and acupuncture needles to
over a dozen countries and regions including Italy and France. TCM
doctors were also sent to foreign countries to assist with their
anti-epidemic efforts. In light of
the pandemic, Tong Xiaolin said that the establishment of TCM emergency
response system for major infectious diseases should be strengthened and
a government-coordinated emergency treatment system mixing TCM and
Western medicine should be set up. Aside
from dealing with major public health crises, TCM could also benefit
society in a wider sense. In the 21st pury, diabetes, hypertension,
rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer's disease, among others, are posing a
big threat to people's health with the elderly being the most
vulnerable. Compared with Western medicine that targets the pathogen,
TCM applies holistic therapies which are more suitable for the elderly.
Thus, for China, a country facing a rapidly aging population, TCM should
be further advanced. TCM originates
from China but belongs to the world. The 72ndWorld Health Assembly
(WHA) held last year adopted the International Classification of
Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11), which for the first time included a
chapter about traditional medicine. Some TCM items such as exogenous
diseases and Zang-fu organs-related diseases have become "common
language" internationally.
|