The idea for this post came to me when I saw a full two-page article in the news section of the i newspaper this week. It was about chronic UTI (urinary tract infection) in women and how the NHS is failing them. The article featured a few heartbreaking stories about how chronic UTI had devastated the lives of these women and how little help and attention they were getting from the doctors. It also mentioned how common the condition is.
I have found the story disturbing, with the same sinking feeling I get every time I come across unnecessary human suffering. There are a few problems on display here:
- The terrible symptoms these women have to endure.
- The fact that modern medicines have no effective treatment for this condition and that the medicines that are used to treat it (mostly unsuccessfully) can cause all sorts of unpleasant and potentially dangerous side effects.
- Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicines are an extremely effective, safe and relatively cheap treatment for chronic UTI, yet only a fraction of the sufferers are lucky enough to end up in a TCM clinic.
This situation is not unique to chronic UTI. There are a few medical conditions where the treatment offered from the doctors is so poor that it is almost criminal, and yet there is a simple and safe alternative treatment which is available. These conditions are the topic of today’s blog.
On top of recurrent Urinary Tract Infections, examples of conditions for which modern medicine has either no treatment, or treatment which is very poor or toxic or both, include stroke, skin conditions, migraines, IBS, chronic fatigue, post viral syndrome (including Long Covid), Asthma and musculoskeletal pain. These can all be treated very effectively with Chinese herbs and/or acupuncture. The list is not exclusive but represents some glaring examples of this problem.
Chronic or recurrent UTIs
The only available Western medicine treatment at the moment is antibiotics, and then more antibiotics, and then more. Some specialists are now offering a treatment which consists of a very high dose of antibiotics taken continuously over many months. It doesn’t matter how many gallons of antibiotics we are going to pour down these poor women’s throats, damaging their digestive and immune systems in the process – the problem is not going to go away.
The bacteria that cause the infection do so recurrently, in those cases, because of the conditions in the waterworks. The presence of a thin layer of pathological fluids (termed Damp Heat in TCM) is coating the walls of the urinary bladder. This layer prevents a normal immune response and creates the perfect conditions for the bacteria to over-multiply and to start an infection. Until we can clear this layer of damp heat the infection is going to reoccur again and again. Specific Chinese herbs are extremely effective in removing damp heat from the urinary bladder and, in doing so, curing recurrent UTIs for good!
Skin conditions
In this case, modern medicine does have treatment but it is often very toxic with potentially dangerous side effects. I will talk about Acne as an example.
The situation here is very similar to recurrent UTIs. Acne is caused by a bacterial infection, so we are back to the cycle of antibiotics and then more antibiotics without an end in sight. If the antibiotics stop working, the next level offered is a drug called Roaccutane. Roaccutane can be fairly effective in drying severe Acne but is very toxic. It can cause liver damage, extreme (in some cases irreversible) dryness of lips and mouth, and, worst of all, mental and emotional problems which have, in some cases, led to suicides. Considering this drug is most often prescribed to teenagers and young adults this is very concerning.
As I mentioned earlier, the situation here is very similar to recurrent UTIs: until we deal with the underlying conditions which allow the bacteria to start the infection, the Acne will keep on returning. The good news is, again, that a combination of Chinese herbs and acupuncture will clear these conditions and will therefore cure the Acne. I use Acne as an example but there are a few other common skin conditions e.g. Eczema, Psoriasis etc. which are often treated with unnecessarily strong and toxic medication by the doctor when they can be treated very effectively with Chinese Medicine.
Strokes
Western medicine can offer treatment only for the acute phase of a Stroke. In other words looking after the patient for the first few days following a Stroke. At that stage the patient will present with certain levels of paralysis as a result of the Stroke. From this point onward there is not much modern medicine can offer towards enhancing rehabilitation. The prognosis is: a third will recover completely, a third will recover some functions but will stay partially paralysed, and a third of the patients will stay as paralysed as they were following the Stroke. Suffice to say that in good Post Stroke Rehabilitation Centres in China, where Acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicines and Tuina massage are used, the full recovery rate is about 80%.
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Another very common condition that is very poorly managed with Western medicine – and yet can in most cases be cured by Chinese Herbal medicines and Acupuncture – is IBS. The problem here, I think, is the misunderstanding of the condition by modern medicine. The definition is: Digestive system symptoms without any known pathology-or in other words, we can’t find any pathology so we don’t know why you are suffering from these symptoms. Not a good starting position when you are looking for a cure. What modern medicine fails to understand, regarding IBS, is that it is not one condition. Actually, in Chinese medicine, no one IBS patient is the same as another. They all have different symptoms and different constitutions and are therefore treated individually. Modern medicine is not useless though with IBS. Some medicine can help with some of the symptoms, but it is the old problem: treating the symptoms, but not the core of the problem. Chinese medicine, fortunately, has a better understanding of digestive system malfunctions and the majority of patients with IBS and treated with TCM improve or even get cured.
Post Viral Syndrome (including Long Covid)
One more group of conditions which has become very relevant these days , following the covid pandemic, is Post Viral Syndrome (includes Long Covid), Chronic Fatigue and ME. I put these all in one group as they can be closely related, although not always.
For this group of patients the treatment offered by modern medicine is very poor-actually, almost non-existent. Until very recently (until the advent of Long Covid) patients suffering from Post Viral Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue or ME were not just untreated but were in most cases practically ignored. Doctors couldn’t wait to get them out of their consultation rooms. It was a sad state of affairs. The reason for this situation was (and still is) that the modern science of medicine understands very little regarding these conditions. Recently, following the coronavirus pandemic, although the ignorance still prevails, at least the attitude has changed. Following the emergence of the latest version of Post Viral Syndrome, Long Covid, doctors are taking these patients more seriously. Although there are no medical treatments offered, there is at least an understanding that these patients need to rest and restrict their activities to allow the body to heal. It doesn’t sound much but at least it’s a step in the right direction. Post Viral Syndrome, ME and Chronic Fatigue get very little, if any, help from modern medicine. Luckily that is not the case in Chinese medicine. Here the treatment is often very effective.
At this stage of writing this post I realise that I have a few more conditions which fit in with the subject of this blog post “When Modern Medicine Fails”. The more I think about it the more conditions are coming up: Asthma, Musculoskeletal pain and Migraines to name a few. I am going to write about these in my next post.
Until then, good health everyone.