Diagnosing Medical Problems

“We do not lack doctors, but medicine” (Charles Louis Montesquieu)
“Before the process of treating an illness, a good practitioner must be able to distinguish between the ‘Yin’ and the ‘Yang’ of heaven and earth. He must be able to distinguish between the internal diseases and matters, and what is external — the outward manifestations of the meridians.
He knows which types of illness are suited to treatment with acupuncture, which type with moxibustion (a mugwort herb burned close to the patient to produce a pleasant heat), and which type with herbal medicine.

The practitioner must understand the connection between health and one’s relationship with the environment, master the standard process of diagnosis and treatment, and recognize the differences between people.
He must inquire about the patient’s age and assess whether the patient tends to be sociable or withdrawn.
He must examine the parts affected by the illness and, at the same time, understand the root of the illness!
The practitioner must observe the tongue and listen to the pulse.
Only in this way can a complete diagnosis be made!”

(Zhang Jingyue – a famous Chinese physician)

There are five stages of diagnosis:

• Observation
• Listening
• (Smelling)
• Questioning
• Palpation

  These stages form a standard process whose combination gives me an understanding of the source of the illness.

• Observation – I look at whether the face appears radiant or drawn, whether there is a coating on the tongue or not, the color of the face, the color of the skin, and so on…
• Listening– I listen to whether the voice is weak or strong, whether the speech is consistent or not, in order to assess the true state of the patient’s spirit. In Chinese this is called SHEN QI — the energy of the spirit.
• Smelling– This diagnostic step is less relevant today, since patients mostly arrive wearing various perfumes. In the past there was body odor, on which the practitioner could base a diagnosis — a sour smell, a sweet smell, a burnt smell, and so on. Today, the sweet smell can still be detected in babies…
• Questioning– I ask about the history of the illness and where the problem is located, in order to distinguish between internal and external problems, between layers of organs and meridians. Medications the patient is taking, sleep habits, appetite, mood, digestive system and more.
• Feeling the pulse at the wrist. Whether the pulse is floating, sunken, slow, rapid, strong or weak. This is done in order to distinguish between deficiency and excess, and also to see whether the overall pulse profile matches the patient’s symptoms or not.
  In addition to the pulse, we also feel the various meridian pathways involved in the overall picture.

After processing all the information gathered, I develop and build a treatment plan tailored to the patient’s needs.

The goal, in the end, is not only to treat and eliminate the symptoms, but also to bring about the healing of the whole person. A healing of this kind, so that the complaints, problems and pains that existed do not return.