Unique External Therapy for Obesity

Author: Guo Jing
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-10-01
Features: The diseases of the five internal organs and six fu organs of the human body are often referred to as "internal diseases," while diseases of the body surface and meridians are called "external diseases." Most diseases enter from the outside, so there is an external treatment method in medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine uses methods such as applying, applying ointments, washing, and steaming to the body surface to achieve the goal of treating diseases. This is called "treating internal diseases externally and treating external diseases externally." Why can internal and external diseases be treated externally? Traditional Chinese medicine believes that external treatment is based on the principles of internal treatment. External treatment and internal treatment differ only in the route of administration. Internal medications must first enter the stomach, be separated and purified by the digestive system before being distributed throughout the body. The dregs of the medicine cannot enter the meridians, and what can enter is actually the fragrance of the medicine. External treatment methods bring the medicine close to the skin, allowing it to reach the internal physiological balance, and can also transmit the fragrance of the medicine through the skin directly to the meridians, dissolving into body fluids. The ancients said, "Using medicine is like using soldiers." Different terrains and different targets require different strategies, so victory can be achieved. Therefore, "the principle of external treatment is the same as that of internal treatment, and the medicine for external treatment is also the same as that for internal treatment." Former Soviet scientist Bo Sreni also discovered: "The human skin has multiple functions. After inhibiting sweating, it not only permeates but can also promptly absorb any solution." Based on this understanding of the physiological mechanism, in accordance with the above medical principles, it further proves the important significance and profound influence of traditional Chinese medicine's "treating internal diseases externally and treating external diseases externally." Internal Diseases Treated Externally · External Diseases Treated Externally: A Unique New Therapeutic Series was jointly conceptualized by me and Wang Guochen, the chief editor of the Military Medical Science Press. Organized and planned by me, it was compiled by many colleagues. Everyone worked together with mutual encouragement, sailing in the same boat, and after more than two years of preparation and effort, enduring the cold and heat, and revising it several times, this series is finally completed. Although the work was arduous, upon completion, looking back, the difficult years have faded, and only the joy of the work being done remains. Among the rich and diverse treatment methods of traditional Chinese and pharmaceutical medicine, treating internal diseases externally and treating external diseases externally is an important component. About 2 million years ago in primitive society, people fought against fierce birds and beasts for survival. When they fell or were bitten by insects, applying topical treatments could reduce pain and stop bleeding, and even speed up wound healing. This is the origin of external treatment methods. In the earliest existing medical literature of China, the Fifty-two Disease Formulas, many external treatment formulas and medications are recorded. For example, the records of using wine for pain relief and disinfection are the earliest records of external use of wine, which are still widely used today. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon advocated the combination of internal and external treatment and elaborated in detail on the methods and content of external treatment with Chinese medicine, laying the foundation for the development of external treatment with Chinese medicine. Subsequently, famous medical books such as the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases, the Emergency Formulas for Quick Relief, the Ghost-Left Formulas of Liu Juanzi, the Thousand Gold Formulas, and the Compendium of Materia Medica all recorded many effective external treatment formulas with Chinese medicine, greatly enriching the content of external treatment with Chinese medicine. In the Qing Dynasty, specialized books on external treatment with Chinese medicine were successively published, such as Zhao Xuemin's External Treatments of the Middle and You, Cheng Pengcheng's Comprehensive Collection for Emergency Life, and Wu Shangxian's Medical Sayings on External Treatment. External treatment methods of traditional Chinese medicine are the traditional treatment methods of our nation and the essence of the important components of our motherland's medicine. Due to the advantages of high efficacy, accurate results, simple operation, and ease of learning, this therapy is widely favored by obese patients. This book is a volume of the Internal Diseases Treated Externally · External Diseases Treated Externally: A Unique New Therapeutic Series and focuses on introducing the origin and development of traditional Chinese medicine's external treatment for obesity, the mechanism of action, efficacy, main treatment methods, and precautions. It has high practical value and is suitable for a broad audience of obese patients and enthusiasts of external treatment in traditional Chinese medicine.