Chinese herbal medicine is powerful. I have seen it help 30 year old psoriatic lesions disappear, chronic eczematous skin turn healthy, and acne stricken amenorrhic (non-ovulating) woman start menstruating regularly and become pregnant. Many would call the healing attributes of Chinese medicine to be “miraculous” but, to the Doctor of Chinese medicine, an individuals return to health is just a normal everyday occurrence.
Yes many health conditions are still very stubborn, severe, and impossible to treat, it is just that the time tested holistic theories of Chinese medicine offer another perspective. Another angle that may have been missed by the narrow focus of the modern microscope. I do believe that the scientific rigor of allopathic medicine will eventual discover how and why Chinese medicine can work so effectively, but until then “miraculous” is a fitting term.
One of the main reasons that Chinese medicine can be quite effective at treating many health complaints is that the Doctor practicing it may have obtained specialized training in the areas they are interested in. This is obviously the same as western allopathic medicine, where Doctors take on further studies to become a dermatologist, a cardiologist, or even a reproductive endocrinologist. A typical hospital in China that focuses on natural medicine, will have many floors of departments dedicated to these same areas of specialization. If you have a heart problem, then you go to the Chinese medical cardiologist who will be very skilled in listening to your heart – offering treatments of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and even pharmaceutical medicine when needed.
Here in North America, Chinese medicine is relatively new. Most practitioners are similar to a GP or MD in allopathic medicine, in that they are “generalists”. They have finished a regular 3 to 5 year program, became licensed, and then set up a practice. Their skill is as good as what their general training offered. This may be good for many health complaints, but it may not be good enough for the more specific and stubborn issues. This is why I always like to educate people on the need to question their health care provider about their skill level. Ask them how much extra training they have received in knowing how to treat the problem you or your loved one has. What is their experience? How confident are they?
It actually goes for anything in life. When I go to a new hair salon, I always want to see the one who is good at cutting “crazy” curly hair. When my wife and I were developing a piece of land on Pender Island, we searched out the best excavator operator, one who would make the landscape that much more beautiful. The man we found, Ron Hensha, actually had an art degree from Emilie Carr! With Ron’s combined skill in using both big machinery and a paintbrush, he transformed the house building site into one that looked as if it were always there – a part of nature, rather than one opposed to it. One can never go wrong in searching out the best when it comes to the problem they want addressed.
I personally feel very privileged to work at Acubalance wellness centre, as I know that all of us have taken many extra hours of training in the field of reproductive medicine. The majority of us have also successfully become Fellows of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (FABORM), one of North America’s first attempts in creating specialized Chinese medicine designations. Because of our training we have had the opportunity to help hundreds of couples overcome their fertility problem, thus improving our clinical confidence – the much needed link between knowledge and success.
Dr. Lorne Brown, the clinical director and founder of Acubalance, founded a continuing education school called Pro-d seminars, where-by he seeks out the best Doctors in the world to share their skill and wisdom on a variety of specialized topics. Their actual motto is “knowledge, confidence, success”. It is because of the integrity of the programs that Pro-d offers that Doctors in the west have the ability to focus their skills and better their clinical outcomes.
I myself am a FABORM, having spent many hours training in reproductive medicine and taking the time to challenge the exam 2 years ago in the United States. I also took extra training in dermatology and have personally spent hundreds of hours flying back and forth between both China and London England studying with the best Chinese medical dermatologists in the World. I knew that Chinese herbal medicine was effective for treating skin disorders because I saw first hand the benefits my wife, Gillian, received.
Gillian struggled with eczema for 22 years before being pretty much cured with herbal medicine. The Doctor who treated her had years of experience in helping others overcome their skin issues. Watching Gillian heal motivated me to seek out the best training I could find, so that I would have the confidence to replicate the experience I had watched Gillian go through. I knew that I would need extra training because the basic 14 hours of dermatology training I received in my 5 year long Doctor program would not be good enough!
So yes, Chinese medicine can treat skin disorders effectively well, as it can for many other issues like infertility. The secret to success is in seeking out the practitioners who have dedicated their lives to deepen their knowledge and skills. As it is only through constant focused study and application of knowledge, that the best results will show up.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Dr. Trevor Erikson
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Trevor Erikson