Traditional Chinese Medicine – Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Sawasdee khràp  

            This Monday our group went to a traditional Chinese hospital here in Bangkok.  The hospital was renowned for being one of the only locations in Thailand where patients can access a variety of services that are not necessarily offered in a more westernized hospital.  We started by learning about the underlying concepts behind traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) from Dr. Kowit Kampirapap. We started with the concept of yin and yang and which parts of the body typically fall in each category, and what defines the two side.   There is believe in TCM that when the two are not completely equal and opposite to each other that a person is sick and when they leave a person that person is said to be deceased.  Dr. Kampirapap then went further to explain different elements in association with yin and yang.  In TCM each element is associated with a different body part like water is associated with kidneys.  It is further believed that each of the elements has their own meridian that it is believed is linked with the organ.  The idea is that doing some manipulation whether it is massage(not a traditional Thai massage), moxibustion (lighting an Chinese herb-filed cigar shaped candle and moving that around an afflicted area), cupping and or acupuncture will help to alleviate the person chi thereby restoring balance.  This is nowhere near a complete guide to TCM but it is a fascinating way to practice medicine.

            I am amazed at the amount of information and knowledge that is needed to practice TCM.  I was surprised at some of the similarities to westernized medicine.  Both are very disciplined in their education, both really focus on observing the patient and follow a similar pattern of how to first engage with a patient who comes to visit, and lastly, each of the disciplines always has a human body chart showing their particular expertise.  In TCM, it is acupuncture points and in Westernizer medicine it is the human body showing off the inner portions of the body.  I found that the hospital we went to is not covered completely by the universal coverage (UC), an insurance that covers most prescriptions and hospital visits for the Thai.  UC covers a third of the cost, one doctor estimated, so patient end up paying around 13 US dollars (400 baht) per visit though that is dependent on the services offered.  Often patients will first try Western Medicine and if the answer is either too cost prohibitive, involves multiple surgical interventions or the treatment isn’t what the patient is willing to do they will often look to TCM for answers.

            So we watched demonstrations about each type of physical manipulation like acupuncture, cupping, massage, soaking in an herbal steam bath, and moxibustion.  It was very interesting to see and on a few of the manipulations, the doctor asked if anyone was interested in having the procedure done.  She asked if anyone wanted to experience cupping and I said yes.  I was interested in seeing how it was done.  I was first instructed to remove my shirt and lay down on a patient bed.  After that one of the assistance rubbed a menthol/camphor mixture that felt similar to muscle rubs like Asperceme.  The doctor then explains ad nauseam that I have a hairy back, she mentioned at least 8 or 9 times that I have a hairy back and cupping may not be good for people like me but she did continue with the procedure.  She then took tongs and lit alcohol drenched cotton swabs and heated the inside of the glass cups up and immediately stuck them to my back.  She did a few different ones then switched to cupping and moving them down my back meridians.  And at the end, she then placed my back with a bunch of them and letting them stay stuck for about 3 minutes. 

            I have to say it didn’t bother my back at all.  So I will preface this with, I am completely fine, my back doesn't hurt and that it looks a lot worst than it is. The noise was a little weird but not off-putting.  I couldn’t see what was being done or as some of my classmates later explained, “it was weird seeing your skin be pulled into the cup like it did”.  It did feel good and wasn’t painful at all though I was told to keep my yang in balance I should not drink cold water and avoid the wind.  I profess I didn’t listen as it is over 30 degrees Celsius here and I am used to colder climates so I drank cold water quite often to cool myself down.  It was very interesting to learn about the various treatments and I was glad we had the opportunity to do so.

-IM