Professor Wang Qi and his team at Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have been working in the field of TCM somatology for decades, from theoretical foundation, social research, clinical and experimental research, comprehensive and systematic collation and discovery, and finally the discipline of TCM somatology has become a system. Professor Wang Qi has confirmed the existence of nine basic constitutions in China through the method of constitution typing research, and has proposed the theory of differentiation of constitution, the theory of correlation of constitution and disease, and the theory of adjustment of constitution. The theory of TCM constitution has positive guiding significance for otorhinolaryngology.
TCM physiology emphasizes that the formation of human physique is based on two basic factors: congenital endowment and acquired conditioning. The importance of TCM physiology is to control the physique by means of acquired nourishment, to realize the idea of individual prevention, to prevent the occurrence of diseases, and to adjust the subhealth state.
The TCM constitution theory can guide us to intervene early in individuals with genetic endowment of allergic rhinitis to prevent the occurrence of the disease.
1. The understanding of TCM physical constitution theory of endowment
The endowment is a special physique caused by congenital deficiency and genetic endowment. In otorhinolaryngology, it is mainly manifested as allergic reaction, i.e. allergic constitution in common endowment. Individuals with allergies have low physiological function and self-adjustment ability, and increased reactivity. Allergic rhinitis is common in clinical practice.
2. Physical characteristics of patients with underlying allergic rhinitis
Studies have shown that 40% of allergic patients have genetic factors; the incidence of allergic diseases in children of one parent is 30% to 50%; the incidence of allergic diseases in children of both parents is 65% to 75%.
If one or both parents have allergic rhinitis, the children can be considered as potential allergic rhinitis patients.
The age of onset of allergic rhinitis varies, and even if both parents have allergic rhinitis, the individual cannot be identified as endowed when he or she does not develop the disease, only that there is a greater likelihood of physical transformation to endowment. The clinical evidence shows that before the onset of such individuals, they tend to show more of a qi-vacant or yang-vacant quality, “the flesh is not firm, the couples are sparse, and they are good at disease wind.” Qi-vacant and Yang-vacant individuals, “meat is not firm, the couples are sparse,” and their own lack of positive energy is an inherent factor in the occurrence of allergic reactions, which invites the invasion of foreign air and wind evil from the loose couples and the onset of disease. And the wind evil of the different air can not prevent, hide can not hide, in order to prevent the occurrence of allergic reactions, should fundamentally improve the allergic physique, coupled with dense then the wind evil of the different air can not invade. If the bias of the physique is not adjusted in time, it will be triggered by the upper sense, or even without warning, “sickness comes like a mountain” and sudden onset of congested nose. If you can intervene in advance through food therapy, medication, and changing lifestyle habits, you can prevent the transformation into an endowment.
3, qi deficiency management of individuals
3.1 Performance of qi deficiency
Individuals with qi deficiency have flabby muscles, quiet and introverted personality, unstable emotions, timid and do not like to take risks. Lack of energy and laziness, tiredness and less energy, white face, less eyes, light mouth, less colorful lips, dizziness and forgetfulness, spontaneous sweating, easy to catch a cold, less food and loose stools, abdominal distension. The tongue is light red, fat and tender, with teeth marks, and the pulse is weak and slow.
3.2 Medication for Qi deficiency
If spleen qi deficiency is the main cause, intermittent doses of tonifying pill or ginseng and white atractylodes pill can be taken; for weak lung qi, intermittent doses of Yu Ping Feng granules. Astragalus is a good medicine to benefit qi and can be drunk as tea. But astragalus is warm, should not be taken in large quantities, “gas is fire”, too much is easy to get on fire.
3.3 Qi deficiency food regimen
Food can often take dates, yam, barley, millet, peanuts, lentils, mushrooms, carrots, chub, squid, quail, brown sugar, honey, or stewed chicken with astragalus.
Avoid eating pungent and qi-consuming products, such as radish, hawthorn, garlic, cilantro, etc.
3.4 Qi deficiency quality of living conditioning
Living conditioning: labor is depleted qi, long lying down also hurts qi, so you should keep living in moderation. Both to avoid overwork, but also to stay away from excessive comfort. Labor is the consumption of gas is easy to understand, how to explain the long lying down hurts gas? The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine cloud: “long lying is not stretching the qi, so hurt qi.” Long lying is not conducive to the flow of qi, which affects the transportation of the spleen and causes qi deficiency.
Qi originates from the innate and is supplemented and nourished by the acquired. Even if the innate endowment is insufficient, after careful conditioning, it can be improved to a large extent.
4, Conditioning of Yang deficiency individuals
4.1 Manifestations of Yang deficiency
White and fat body with flabby muscles. Calm and introverted personality. Fear of cold, the hands and feet are not warm, depressed, like to be quiet and lazy, sleep more, diet like warm, loose stools, urine clear and long, face s white, eyes cell obscure mouth and lips light. The tongue is light, fat and tender, with tooth marks on the side, white moist coating, and sunken sluggish pulse.
4.2 Medication for Yang deficiency quality
“Therefore, individuals with Yang deficiency should be conditioned in spring and summer, so that they can make use of the abundant Yang energy in nature to dispel the cold energy condensed in the body and help their own Yang energy to grow.
For medication, you can take Jin Kui Kidney Qi Pills intermittently.
4.3 Food conditioning for Yang deficiency
For food conditioning, eat sweet, warm and beneficial products such as mutton, dog meat, chicken, gravy, lentils, cut beans, leek, ginger, cinnamon, lychee, walnuts, etc.
Avoid cold foods, such as duck, milk, tofu, bitter melon, watermelon, water chestnuts, etc.
4.4 Yang deficiency diet
Exercise, walking in the sun, taijiquan, etc., can draw the heat of the sun to enrich and invigorate one’s yang energy.
The difference of physical constitution determines the tendency of morbidity and the susceptibility of individuals to certain diseases, but physical constitution is not only stable, but also variable, and appropriate conditioning can improve the bias of physical constitution and control and prevent the occurrence of diseases. With the help of medicine and diet, individuals with Qi deficiency and Yang deficiency can be controlled to develop into endowment. This also reflects the idea of “treating the disease before it happens” in Chinese medicine. The academic thought of treating the untreated disease is embodied in “Su Wen – Four Qi Tuning Shen Da Lun”: “Therefore, the sage does not treat the untreated disease, and does not treat the untreated chaos, which is also called. The disease has become and after the medicine of, chaos has become and after the treatment of, like thirst and wear well, bucket and cast cone, is not also late.” This academic thought is the foundation of preventive medicine.
The main purpose of treating the disease is to prevent the occurrence of disease and control the transmission of disease. The occurrence of disease depends on both positive and negative aspects, but the strength of positive qi plays a decisive role. “The strength of positive qi is determined by the constitution. The key to treating the disease is to regulate the body, strengthen the individual’s positive qi, and rely on one’s own positive qi to resist external attacks. Individuals with a genetic predisposition to allergic rhinitis tend to have a deficient qi and yang deficiency, and are prone to invasion by external evil. If early intervention is made to strengthen their positive qi through medication, diet, exercise, and spiritual conditioning, they can resist the attack of wind and evil spirits and may not develop the disease for the rest of their lives. In other words, by regulating the allergic constitution and adjusting the body’s disordered immune system, the body’s adaptability to external allergens (evil qi) will gradually increase and its reactivity will decrease.
The theory of TCM constitution has a positive guiding significance in preventing the occurrence of allergic rhinitis.