DAAN Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

An interesting interview with an acunpunturist about how he treated his daughter’s eczema with herbs:

“Woburn -
When acupuncturist Mike Arsenault’s infant daughter was born with eczema, he looked to his acupuncture and herbal medicine training to develop something that would help his daughter and avoid him having to put chemicals or steroids on his baby.

Q: What made you choose to look at herbal remedies for your daughter?

A: Acupuncture and herbs go hand-in-hand, and that was definitely part of my training, so I do provide herbs for people both internally and externally. Plant-based substances have a whole complement of ingredients, and in Chinese herbal medicine we usually use a number of things all together that complement and balance and enhance each other. So it’s a lot safer, to my mind, than isolated chemical structures.

So when I wanted to treat my daughter, I didn’t want to put anything on her that could possibly cause harm, because she was very young and just infant skinned. Through just trial and error and my training, I created something. It’s basically beeswax, olive oil and three Chinese herbs.
Q: Why does it work?

A: Basically when you have dry skin conditions, your protective oils aren’t doing enough or, in some cases, you have some sensitivity and irritation. So this is a wax oil base. It creates a barrier and almost puts a type of protective oil similar to your body oil. But the herbs inside are, in Chinese terms, to vent heat, and the other herbs are to nourish the blood, to strengthen and beautify the skin.
Q: What else did you try before deciding on this formula?

A: We did have some in-process formulas. I based it on a traditional recipe of Chinese medicine for eczema and the initial recipe calls for sesame oil, which we used. It worked quite well, but she smelled like a little sesame ball all the time, it was quite funny. We didn’t care, because it was working, it was healthy and it was natural. So I did use that with my patients, and people either loved it or hated it. So I had to figure out, OK, if I’m going to use this with more people, what am I going to do? So I changed to olive oil.

Q: How did you get started with acupuncture and herbal medicines in the first place?

A: I was a patient. I was actually a community college professor before and I was very active doing martial arts and sports, and I got injured actually a number of times. I’d go to the doctor, get a painkiller or muscle relaxer, wait around for something to happen, and nothing would happen. I was just treating the symptoms. So the next time I got injured, I asked around and someone sent me to an acupuncturist, and they fixed me up really quickly and I got intrigued and I just kept going from there.

My mom thought it was crazy that I went as a patient, let alone to learn later, because when I was a kid if she tried to take a splinter out I just about passed out. But now, every day I put hundreds of needles in people, it’s crazy.
Q: How does acupuncture work?

A: We go through a detailed intake and look at all the bodily symptoms and try to figure out what’s underlying the problem and, if possible, diagnose the underlying condition that’s causing the problems and treat both. It’s thought to be homeostatic, or promoting the body’s own balance, and it’s just a stimulus to get your body to be doing something it should be doing on its own. There’s nothing on [the needle], it’s just solid stainless steel and you put them along certain nerve pathways.

Q: What are the most common misconceptions with acupuncture and herbal medicine?

A: First, the needles. When you hear the word needle you think doctors, because that’s what you’ve experienced. So they have a large gauge hole, so they’re either taking something put or putting something in, so they have to gouge the flesh to get in. These are solid and hair thin. So you rarely feel them at all. So the pain factor is a big misconception. Rarely is there any discomfort.

The herbal stuff, people will say it’s dangerous or it’s not regulated, but the side effects of herbs are much fewer than the side effects of meds which are “regulated” and “tested.” We hear about much more harm from meds. Meds are great, I have nothing against meds, they’re a useful tool. But herbs are often safer. I’ve never seen any real harm from herbs.”

Tags: Acupuncture by DAAN
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Some woman suffering from endometriosis have been helped with Chinese herbs. Now a study is being conducted to determine it’s effects:

“Endometriosis, a gynaecological problem affecting between 5 and 15 per cent of women, occurs when cells from the lining of the womb, the endometrium, migrate and grow in other parts of the body, often causing extreme pain, particularly around the time of menstruation. Conventional treatments, such as hormone tablets, tend to bring only short-term relief and can have side-effects such as a temporary menopause.

But now a new research study aims to prove that Chinese herbal medicine can help. People with endometriosis have long criticised doctors’ lack of awareness of the condition. It was diagnosed in Harrison in 1999, two years after she had first complained of pain. After an investigative operation she had laser treatment to burn off the areas of endometrial tissue in her abdomen that were proving troublesome, but the pain continued. The doctors recommended that she take hormone tablets, but she decided against them because they could cause weight gain and mood swings. The pain continued.

Then, five years ago, she found relief. Contacting her local complementary therapy clinic, she asked which treatments might help and she was assigned to Andrew Flower, a practitioner in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. “He was brilliant. He accepted that I did have an illness, that I had not imagined it and that it was as debilitating as I said it was,” says Harrison. “Within two weeks of taking the first batch of herbs I felt incredible relief. I could move without pain and do the gardening again. The feeling that my pelvis was solid and blocked disappeared.”

“For the first few months I saw Andrew every few weeks. He tried various mixtures of herbs, which I took in powder form with hot water once or twice a day. Recently I’ve been getting them already made up in liquid form, which makes it much easier. They have a distinctive smell, which I love, but my family find disgusting.”

Many women have reported anecdotally that herbal medicines help their endometriosis, and several trials have taken place in China, but until now there has been little rigorous scientific research. Flower is involved in the first clinical trial of Chinese herbs in the West using boiled herbs and conducted under rigorous Western protocols. These demand that neither patient nor doctor knows which patients are receiving the herbs and which have been given a placebo mix. “I looked at 55 Chinese papers in which herbs had been used to treat endometriosis and spoke to 11 practitioners in this country,” says Flower, who is conducting the trial under the auspices of the complementary medicine research unit at Southampton University.

“The Chinese have been using these treatments for hundreds of years and don’t feel they have to prove that they work, but their research is strongly suggestive that herbs can have an impact on endometriosis. Given that endometriosis is not well treated by Western medicine and that up to 44 per cent of women experience a return of their symptoms within a year of laser surgery, the treatment was worth investigating.” ”

Tags: Women's Health by DAAN
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Psoriasis can be a difficult condition to treat. The traditional Chinese medical view is that psoriasis is caused internal heat:

” Da Peng Zhang is Doctor of Chinese Medicine based at ShiZhen Clinic, Old Trafford

Q: How would Chinese medicine treat psoriasis?

Zhang says: In traditional Chinese Medicine theory, psoriasis is considered to be caused by certain internal states characterised as, wind-heat, damp-heat, blood-heat and excessive damp caused by spleen deficiency. These days the most common forms of psoriasis tend to be those identified as being caused by heat, where the symptoms are inflamed dry and itchy skin and feeling of thirst.

Temperatures are slightly higher compared to years ago. This change can be seen over a long period of time in the field of TCM, where, for example, 1000 years ago, records indicated a prescription of warm herbs whereas now we are using far more cooling herbs. There are a range of explanations why this might be so.

First, there are environmental problems where high levels of industrialisation have increased atmospheric temperature. Secondly, the advent of central heating and better insulated homes and work places also increases the temperature of our living environment. Thirdly, dietary changes towards high energy ‘hot’ foods and smoking also increase our body temperature.

Fourthly, the stress of modern life can generate more heat. All these reasons can combine to create excessive blood heat which ’steams’ the skin and can cause psoriasis. Recent climatic changes towards damper conditions and less sunshine may invite fungal infection which can also be a cause of psoriasis.

If the psoriasis is of the heat type, we usually use Chinese herbs which are cool in nature and thus clear the blood heat causing toxins. Sometimes, if necessary, we can also combine these with herbs that eradicate fungal infection. The herbs often have a bitter taste but have a better result, typically an improvement in the patient’s condition after one or two weeks, irrespective of the severity of presenting complaint. Another important treatment is acupuncture. By using fine needles to insert acu-points, to detoxify the body heat, release the stress and rebalance the energy level.”

Tags: Herbs by DAAN
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An Acupuncturist in the UK is dispelling the myths about acupuncture.

“MARILIA Blackburn is hoping her exhibition will help dispel some of the myths about needles.

Marilia is an acupuncturist, and her business, Energia Vital, is based at 9 Park Street, Congleton.

She has an exhibition at Congleton Library, which runs until next Tuesday, June 5.

“When people hear that acupuncture uses needles they think - oh no, that’s not for me, thanks!” said Marilia.

“The aim of the display is to dispel the myth of scary needles, and to inform people about the applications and benefits of acupuncture.”

Tags: Acupuncture by DAAN
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Herbal drinks a hit with locals Medicated tea.
“FOR more than 50 years, this push cart medicated tea stall has been at Cintra Street, Penang. The drinks will ‘cool the body’ and keep sickenesses at bay as the Chinese believe that many ailments are caused by ‘heatiness’.

The gourd-shaped containers at the stall are always an attraction as almost everybody will know that they contain medicated tea.

Motorists, motorcyclists and passers-by stop by to have a cup of the herbal drinks. Business is better when the weather is warmer.

The founder, the late Chan Swee Foo, was a Chinese medical doctor who migrated from China to settle down in Malaysia. He found out that Malaysia’s hot and humid weather could cause people to fall sick easily. Also, the Malaysian food was mostly fried and spicy.”

Tags: Tea by DAAN
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One woman’s account on how acupuncture helps her friend living with stress. DAAN’s Acupuncturist Susan Yen offers Acupuncture treatment for stress and many other ailments.
“By Lynn Jaffee My friend, Karla, seems to catch every illness that is going around. She recently had the intestinal flu that her kids caught a few weeks earlier. This was right after she had gotten over a nasty cold. Last week she was laid out with a headache that made it impossible for her to concentrate at work. When I think about Karla, I realize that she is one of the most stressed women I know. She worries about her husband’s job, struggles to balance work and her kid’s after-school activities, and is the consummate volunteer. She is overwhelmed and on the go, and it makes perfect sense to me that she doesn’t feel well much of the time. We know that stress makes us ill; because when we are stressed our bodies produce cortisol and other hormones that in overabundance can damage our health. In addition, prolonged stress keeps our bodies in a constant state of readiness, which is ultimately depleting.”

Tags: Acupuncture, DAAN, Disease by DAAN
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Antioxidants help improve one’s quality of life, DAAN’s Hemotune is a great product for enhancing one’s life.
“A key ingredient to improving your lifestyle and living a healthy life is antioxidants. There are several antioxidant supplements out there that can help you live a healthy life, that are natural and won’t cause you any damage. You can also eat different types of food that contain antioxidants as well, although supplements are the ideal way to get the right amounts of antioxidants.

If you take in more antioxidants through food and supplements, there are a few benefits that you’ll have, with the first being cell protection. Antioxidants can help to protect your cells from damage, which helps to fend off diseases. Many times, you can have a lack of vitamins in your body, which will cause you to recover from diseases or injury very slow. If you have the right amount of vitamins and antioxidants in your body, you’ll notice the differences.”

Tags: DAAN, General by DAAN
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Acupuncture is used in treating male impotence.

“As the population of the United States ages, age related health issues arise. Following is a summary of the use of acupuncture in the treatment of male impotence.

Acupuncture – Treatment of Male Impotence

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine have been involved in the treatment of male impotence since the time of the Chinese Emperors. It was a condition of concern to those poor emperors who often had as many as 3000 wives. Although the common Chinese male did not have a similar problem, impotence treatments designed to help the emperor would have certainly filtered down to his level.”

Tags: Acupuncture by DAAN
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Chinese medicine is found to be beneficial in treating cysts.

“Using a compound from a centuries-old Chinese traditional medicine, Yale University researcher Dr. Craig Crews has been able to prevent the formation of kidney-destroying cysts in a mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. This ability holds out hope for what would be the first treatment, other than kidney transplant or frequent dialysis, for one of the most lethal of all kidney diseases worldwide.

Dr. Crews described the functioning of the compound at Experimental Biology 2007 in Washington, DC. His presentation was part of the scientific program of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Triptolide is derived from a Chinese medicinal herb, named Lei Gong Teng, which has been used in traditional medicine to treat cancer, inflammation, and auto-immune diseases and, more recently, also has been tested in Phase I clinical trials as an anti-tumor agent.”

Tags: East and West, Disease by DAAN
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Acupuncture can improve the life for those living with multiple sclerosis
“Multiple sclerosis is a diagnosis you simple do not want to get. Acupuncture for Multiple Sclerosis can help to make a person more comfortable and in control.

Acupuncture for Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis is a horrible disease of the central nervous system. It attacks a substance called myelin which sheaths the nerves. There is interference with messages and signals between the brain and the body. This results in a wide variety of symptoms depending on the nerves effected. Often the symptoms become such that the patient becomes confined to a wheel chair due to loss of balance and motor control. Loss of bladder and bowel control contributes to the emotional sense of helplessness and depression in the patients. There is no cure for Multiple Sclerosis at this time, nor is there any absolute certainty as to its cause.”

Tags: Acupuncture, Disease by DAAN
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