Alternative Medicine

Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) is an ancient method of understanding the interaction between the body and the natural world, and medical physiology based on universal phenomena. Certain theories are applied which, together, define the concepts of health, disease, balance, and vital energy. The theories of Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Qi are the basis on which treatment is formulated and include acupuncture, herbal medicine, tui na (massage therapy), and food energy.

Diagnosis is based on correlation between the patient’s history, constitution, environment, diet, palpation of the pulse, inspection of the tongue, and observation of any patterns that might indicate the source or sources of the patient’s disease or disharmony.

As an example, let’s consider Heat. A patient may have an elevated body temperature or fever, or the patient’s body temperature may be normal but show Heat signs, such as dry mouth, red tongue with a yellow coating, red eyes, warm ears, pink skin, rapid pulse, constipation, and cool-seeking behavior. Additionally, Heat can be subcategorized into Excess Heat and Deficiency Heat. The former can include superficial heat (common cold), irritability from Liver heat (emotional), heat toxin (infection), summer heat (environmental), and Damp-Heat (stubborn and downwardly migrating).

Each of these Heat patterns is treated differently, and although the example is simple and self-evident, it allows differentiation of many patterns based on an organizing set of principles originating 2,000 or more years ago.