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Običajno obravnavamo prehlad ali gripo kot okužbo zgornjih dihal (URTI). Povzroči jo akutna okužba, ki vključuje zgornjo dihalno pot, skupaj z nosom, sinusi, žrelom ali grlom. Običajno zajema zamašen nos, boleče grlo, tonzilitis (angina), faringitis, laringitis, sinusitis, vnetje srednjega ušesa in običajni prehlad. Večina okužb je po naravi virusnih, v ostalih primerih je vzrok bakterijski. URTI so lahko prav tako glivičnega ali parazitskega izvora, vendar se pojavijo poredko.
Kakor v moderni medicini, so tudi po TKM terminu patogeni sovražniki, ki napadejo naše telo. Razlika je v tem, da se tradicionalna kitajska medicina (TKM) pri razumevanju vzrokov gripe in prehlada poslužuje makroskopskega in holističnega koncepta, namesto da bi se osredotočala zgolj na specifičen virus, kot je koronavirus ali virus influence-A. TKM se osredotoča na naravo posledice, ki jo je povzročil virus. Npr., nekateri virusi povzročajo predvsem suhi kašelj, medtem ko drugi glavobole in utrujenost. Po vrednotenju simptomov s TKM diagnostiko smo razdelili te vsiljive napadalce v šest kategorij.
Tu je šest skupin ‘vsiljivih napadalcev’, in sicer ‘vetrno zlo’, ‘zlo poletne vročine’, ‘ognjeno zlo’, ‘vlažno zlo’, ‘suho zlo’ in ‘hladno zlo’. Med njimi se vetrno zlo smatra za vodilnega vsiljivca, ki naše telo napade najpogosteje, saj se hitro spreminja (tako kot mutirajoči virus). Ti patogeni sovražniki prav tako lahko sodelujejo skupaj in napadejo vse telesne sisteme. Do URTI pride, ko je napaden pljučni sistem; do miokarditisa, ko je napaden srčni sistem; okužbe urinarnega trakta, ko je napaden sistem mehurja, itd. Nekateri izmed manj prepoznavnih simptomov, kot sta vrtoglavica ali visok krvni pritisk, so prav tako lahko posledica prisotnosti vsiljivcev.
V teoriji TKM verjamemo, da če je telo okuženo z zunanjimi patogeni, to pomeni, da je naša notranja energija šibka. V nasprotnem primeru, če ima nekdo dober nivo energije, bi se moral imunski sistem primerno odzvati in odstraniti vsiljivce, brez da bi nam prizadejal več težav. Je več dejavnikov, ki lahko ošibijo našo notranjo energijo oz. z drugimi besedami imunost. Neugodne posledice vremenskih in sezonskih sprememb, kot so močan veter, hlad, vročina ali vlaga, prisilijo naše telo, da za odziv na neravnovesje porabi dodatno energijo. Stres je prav tako pogost vzrok za neravnovesje. Drugi vzroki za šibko notranjo energijo so lahko kronične bolezni, visoka starost ali celo prirojene težave. Po razumevanju kitajske medicine so simptomi prehlada in gripe rezultat bitke med telesno zaščitno energijo proti vsiljivcem. Zaščitna energija je tista vrsta vitalne energije, ki je odgovorna za našo odpornost.
TKM zdravljenje za prehlad ali gripo se ne osredotoča samo na neposredno uničenje virusa ali bakterij na mikroskopskem nivoju. Namesto tega se osredotoča na povrnitev notranje energije v človeško telo. S stališča sodobne medicine bi to lahko pojasnili kot preoblikovanje notranjega okolja človeškega telesa, tako da virusi ali bakterije tam ne morejo več najti dobrega habitata ali okolja za preživetje. S povrnitvijo zdrave notranje mikroflore v človeško telo bodo simptomi prehlada ali gripe postopoma izginili in bolezen minila. Vendar lahko za pospešitev okrevanja TKM uporablja tudi akupunkturo in zelišča za ‘izločitev vsiljivca’. Verjamemo, da če lahko sovražnik na nek način pride, potem lahko na enak način tudi odide. Npr., če nas ‘vetrno zlo’ napade preko kože, pospešimo zdravljenje z zelišči, ki bi lahko sprožila potenje, ali akupunkturnimi točkami, ki odpirajo pore. V primeru diareje zaradi virusne ali bakterijske okužbe ne smemo neposredno zaustaviti diareje. Namesto tega se moramo najprej znebiti, prečistiti teh patogenov. Zato imajo lahko včasih naši pacienti ‘neobičajno blato’ ali trebušne krče pred izboljšanjem vsesplošnega stanja diareje. vir fotografij: internet
How viral infection like Cold and Flu Develop in the view of Traditional Chinese medicine
A cold or flu is usually referred to as an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). It is caused by an acute infection, which involves the upper respiratory tract, including the nose, sinuses, pharynx, or larynx. This commonly includes nasal obstruction, sore throat, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, sinusitis, otitis media, and the common cold. Most infections are viral in nature, and in other instances, the cause is bacterial. URTIs can also be fungal or helminthic in origin, but these are less common.
Just like modern medicine, the pathogens are enemies that invade our body. The difference is that Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) uses a macroscopic and holistic concept to understand the causes of cold and flu, instead of targeting a specific virus, like coronavirus or influenza-A virus. TCM focuses on the nature of impact caused by the virus. For example, some viruses tend to cause a dry cough, while come tend to cause headache or tiredness. Then by assessing these symptoms with TCM diagnostic, we summarize these “invading enemies” into six categories.
There are six groups of “invading enemies”, namely the "wind evil" , "summer heat evil" , "fire evil" , “dampness evil” , “dryness evil” and "cold evil". Among them, the wind evil is considered the leading “invading enemy” that most frequently breaks into our body because it is fast changing (just like the mutating virus). These pathogenic enemies can work together and attack all the systems. URTI is when the Lung system is under attack, myocarditis is caused when the Heart system is under attack, urinary tract infection is when the Bladder system is under attack, etc. Some less commonly recognized symptoms like vertigo or high blood pressure can also be a result of “invading enemies”. In the TCM theory, we believe that if the body is infected by external pathogens, it means that the internal energy is weak. Otherwise, if one has a good level of energy, the immune system should work properly in killing the “invading enemies” without causing much trouble to us. There are many factors that could weaken our internal energy, or our immunity in other words. Unfavorable influences in the climatic and seasonal changes in nature like strong wind, coldness, heat, dryness or dampness force our body to spend extra energy to react to these imbalances. Stress is also a common cause of imbalance. Other causes of weak internal energy could be chronic illness, old age or even congenital issues. In Chinese medicine understanding, symptoms of cold and flu are the result of a battle between the protective energy of the body against the invading enemies. Protective energy is a kind of vital energy responsible for our immunity. TCM treatment for cold and flu does not just focus on direct killing of virus or bacteria on a microscopic level. Instead, it focuses on resuming the internal harmony of the human body. From a modern medicine viewpoint, this might be explained as modifying the internal environment of the human body, so that the virus or bacteria can no longer find a good habitat or environment in the human body to survive. By resuming the healthy internal ecology inside human body, the symptoms of cold and flu will gradually go away and the illness will then be treated. But of course, to speed up recovery, TCM also uses acupuncture or herbs to “expel the enemies”. We believe that if an enemy can come in a certain way, then they can leave in the same way. For example, if the “Wind evil” attacks us from the skin, we speed up the healing by herbs that could trigger sweating or acupoint that open up the pores. In the case of diarrhea caused by viral or bacterial infection, we should not stop the diarrhea directly. Instead, we should first clean away those pathogens. So sometimes patients would have some “funny poop” or abdominal cramping before the overall condition of diarrhea is improved.