If you have studied medicine, you probably know that China has a tradition of its own – Chinese medicine – and that it has a great influence in the world. But the point is, does it really work?
- In any case, we believe that Chinese medicine is not 100% reliable.
- Chinese medicine played an important role in ancient times and has some reference value even now.
- Today, modern medicine is a better choice, but this does not mean that TCM is worthless.
Does Chinese medicine work?
The short answer is that TCM may work.
In those days when there was no internet or telephone, the Chinese made Chinese medicine what it is today through observation, summary, and constant revision.
Although we don’t think TCM is that prudent, it has been revised and adapted over time (like Wikipedia) to be at least a “preliminary reference”.
But then came the next step.
Chinese medicine has summarized a lot of “correlations” that are not 100% reliable treatments.
It can even have very serious side effects.
So the final answer is: Chinese medicine will probably work, but it will also bring a lot of side effects.
Reliability issues of TCM
Traditionally, TCM does not practice large-scale double-blind experiments, and the theoretical structure of TCM has no falsifiable relationships, so TCM is not generally considered a science.
And when traditional TCM was developed, microorganisms, cells, genes and organic molecules were not discovered, so it was difficult to explain diseases in a scientific way.
Today, with the development of modern science into molecular biology, many TCM concepts still have not found corresponding physical evidence and are therefore doubted.
For example, qi, meridians, acupuncture points, yin and yang, cold, heat and dampness, etc.
We cannot explain exactly where it exists or how it works.
Even Chinese medicine itself has not given a convincing answer.
Why we trust modern medicine more
There are many reasons for this, such as young people being efficient and more interested in seeing results as soon as possible.
Importantly, modern medicine is more about basic logic, which means it is more scientific and realistic and reduces the problem of side effects.
In ancient times, there were no vaccines, regular medical checkups and adequate health promotion, and many poor people suffered from illnesses.
For the rich, they also had to call on Chinese doctors to save their lives, and many times it was still based on luck.
The ancient people trusted traditional Chinese medicine, which has been passed down from generation to generation and has protected millions of people.
Modern medicine, with antibiotics, vaccines, scalpels and various tests, has made diagnosis and treatment more efficient and lesions more visual.
For example, if a fever occurs after an infection, the child’s sample is quickly sent for testing, and cooling measures are in place to control the body temperature before the test results are available.
Before and after the pathogen is identified under the microscope, antibiotics are already in place to control the infection, and the child is quickly discharged from the hospital.
In tumor patients, the type, size, and metastasis of the tumor can be detected and diagnosed by ancillary techniques such as pathological biopsy, MRI, and imaging, and the patient’s condition can improve rapidly after surgery.
