Common
Childhood Ailments:
Self-Medicating with TCM
Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group
Ms Miao Meng, Senior
TCM Physician at Raffles
Chinese Medicine tells
us how TCM can help
alleviate common
childhood symptoms.
Fever
From a TCM perspective,
the “six weathers” of
the human body are wind,
coldness, summer-heat,
dampness, dryness and
fire. Due to a
weak immune system, a
drastic change from one
weather to another
affects one of the six
exogenous pathogenic
factors, which is
considered the key to
children sickness.
Thus, a change in
weather could cause an
increase in body
temperature, hence a
fever. To reduce a
fever, give your child a
herbal brew of boiled
antelope horn (2-5g) in
water. This will
prevent twitching caused
by high fever.
Flu/Cold
The typical children’s
flu or cold could be due
to “wind chill”,
“wind-heat”, or “summerheat”.
It is important to treat
a flu or cold with a
clear understanding of
the underlining cause -
whether coldness or
hotness. For “wind
chill”, medications such
as “Cong Bai”, “Jing Jie”,
”Fang Feng” and “Dou
Chi” from the
pungent-warm
diaphoretics can be
given. For
“wind-heat” or
“summer-heat”,
medications such as “Jin
Yin Hua”, “Lian Qiao”,
“Lu Gen”, “He Ye”, “Xi
Gua” and “Cui Yi” can be
used to clear away the
heat.
Cough
If the cough is
productive and phlegm is
white and loose in
nature, try boiling the
following herbs with
black sugar and water
for 30 minutes: 100g
sliced “white carrot”,
10g “Chuan Bei Mu”, 3g
“Chen Pi” and 3g “Fresh
Ginger”. Drinking
the soup twice a day in
the morning and
afternoon will ease the
cough. If the
cough is unproductive
and phlegm is yellow and
thick, Ms Miao
recommends drinking the
juice made by blending
an equal amount of pear
and fresh lotus together
with rock sugar. The
juice should be taken
twice a day, morning and
night. Depending
on the age of the child,
the amount taken should
be 20ml to 40ml per
intake.
Constipation
Regular meals and good
bowel habits help
prevent constipation.
Your child must drink mo
re water if he perspires
excessively. A
gentle abdominal massage
after shower can be
beneficial. With a
small amount of bath
powder in one palm,
gently massage clockwise
for five minutes, using
the umbilicus as the
center.
Vomiting
The gastrointestinal
function is not fully
developed in young
children. If a
child eats too much or
if the food is too hot
or cold, he will
experience indigestion
and even vomiting.
Thus, children with poor
appetite should not be
forced to eat.
Certain medications may
be necessary to assist
digestion, therefore,
check with your TCM
physician.
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Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group
Dated: November 2011
|
Raffles
Medical
Group is
a leading
medical
group and
the largest
private
group
practice in
Singapore.
As a fully
integrated
healthcare
organisation,
the Group
owns and
operates a
network of
family
medicine
clinics, a
tertiary
care private
hospital,
insurance
services and
a consumer
healthcare
division.
Patients of
the Group
enjoy a
continuum of
care, from
having their
most basic
healthcare
needs met
through the
Group’s
islandwide
network of
Raffles
Medical
clinics, to
specialist
and tertiary
care at
Raffles
Hospital. |
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