Epidemic. Pandemic. We are currently being bombarded with current pandemic de jour in the form of (H1N1) the swine flu. It has spread quickly and we are just now getting reports on how other countries are dealing with this strain of influenza. Ditan Hospital in Beijing just reported that, “88 out of 117 patients treated for (H1N1) the disease only on the herbs fully recovered and were discharged.” You hear nothing of this in the western news outlets or from the CDC. Chinese Medicine has been dealing with epidemics for a couple of thousand years. It details the signs and symptoms, pattern, etiology, and disease progression in a very different way than does western medicne.
One method, the six meridian method was developed early in the Eastern Han Dynasty by Zhang Zhongjing (150-219AD) in the book of Shanghan Zabzabinglun (Discourse on Fevers and Miscellaneous Illnesses). It is based on the distribution of the three yang meridians (Tai Yang, Yang Ming, Shao Yang) and the three yin meridians (Tai Yin, Shao Yin, Jue Yin).
Signs and symptoms are classified into six stages that correspond to those particular meridians. The three yang meridians are located on the exterior parts of the body and as a disease or ‘evil’ progresses the disease’s symptoms will progress along the more interior yin meridians. The Shang Han Lun also contained detailed herbal formulations that addressed individual stages of a disease.
If we follow the Shang Han Lun’s elucidation on disease stages and determine the presenting signs and symptoms to determine a pattern, then we can determine the stage and proper treatment. Swine Flu’s pattern typically starts out as Tai Yang disease as per the CDC list of signs and symptoms and then progresses to a Shao Yang disease.
A Tai Yang disease is an invasion of Wind Cold or Wind Heat. These signs and symptoms match the typical ones found in the flu. The signs and symptoms for Wind Cold are:
- Floating Pulse
- Head and nape are stiff and painful
- Runny nose (clear)
- White or clear sputum
- Occipital Headache
- Body Aches
- Fever
- Chills (The chills are greater than the fever) and aversion to cold
- Thin white tongue coating
Wind Heat Pattern includes additional signs and symptoms minus the aversion to cold:
- Sore Throat
- Fever with light sweating
- A floating, rapid pulse
If there is a shao yang pattern, there will be:
- Alternating fever and chills
- A bowstring or wiry pulse
- Lack of appetite
- Half of the tongue fur may be yellow with or yellow fur may encircle white
- Cough
Heat toxins are evidenced by:
- More pronounced sore throat
- Possible purulence of the tonsillar membranes
- Higher fever
- Yellow or Green Sputum
There may also be other symptoms present such as shortness of breath in the case of asthma.
The Shang Han Lun states the formula for Wind Strike is Gui Zhi Tang as a first step in combating the disease. The objective is to induce sweating and release exterior. If this can be cleared before the Wind Strike settles into the body then the secondary bacterial infection in the lungs can be averted.
As the disease progresses or has progressed to either a wind heat pattern, the sputum will change to a yellow or green color, the headache will be more generalized, there will be more fever than chills and there may also be sore throat. Yin Qiao San is typically prescribed for this stage of the illness.
In my clinical practice, I treated three siblings that had been diagnosed with swine flu. The day of the consult they were just starting to cough and the sputum had changed from clear to a yellow/green. Pulses were wiry and none were floating. The tongue coating was still white with a tinge of yellow and thick. One child had a red tip. The sore throats were severe as were their headaches. Chills had progressed from minor to major with flashes of heat and then finally fevers of 102 over the last two days. They were told by the western doctor to take in plenty of fluids, oral decongestants, cough suppressants and Tylenol and if the signs and symptoms get worse then return to the hospital. I prescribed a combination of a classic formula with a modification of a modern formula that has had success in China with the Swine Flu.
They were to take 3 doses a day and keep track of the fever, sputum color and amount, pain and sore throat. After 2 doses the fevers subsided by evening. Cough remained and their sore throats had diminished by half by the evening. By the afternoon of the second day and 5 doses, sore throats had subsided, no aches or pains, sputum had cleared in color and diminished considerably. No signs of fever. Day three, only minor signs and symptoms of sputum and general malaise with an occasional cough. Day 4 we switched to Cold Quell Jr by Blue Poppy. ColdQuell is based on a combination of three herbal formulas. These are Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction), Yin Qiao San (Lonicera & Forsythia Powder), and Si Wu Tang (Four Materials Decoction). I changed to this because the severity of the symptoms had reduced to a point that a lesser strength formula with support herbs could be used. By day 4 the signs and symptoms were clear and only 2 more doses were taken.
Though the genetics of each different Flu virus strain may be different, the Traditional Chinese Medicine approach is still valid as it is not based on attacking the virus but rather on assisting the body’s own healing processes.
Herbalism incorporates a long tradition of use outside conventional medicine. Its becoming much more mainstream as advancements in analysis and quality control in addition to innovations in scientific research show the value of herbal treatments in the treating and preventing illness.