Chinese medicine is the national treasure of China, and many difficult and complicated diseases Chinese doctors have solutions. When a child is sick, parents rarely think of taking their child to a TCM doctor because drinking Chinese medicine can be a big problem for children. However, TCM is unique in treating some common childhood diseases and regulating children’s bodies, which can sometimes solve big problems. In this week’s Health E Hospital, we invited Dr. Chen Yonghui from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics to interact with netizens online, and here is an excerpt of the highlights. Moderator: Due to the season, children love to be sick in spring. Let’s ask Dr. Chen to tell us what diseases children are prone to in spring. Chen Yonghui: Common pediatric diseases in spring are mainly respiratory diseases, such as upper respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc. In addition, there are also infectious diseases, such as measles, rubella and scarlet fever. This is related to the physiological characteristics of children, as Chinese medicine says: “Children’s lungs are delicate, outside together with the skin and hair, and open to the mouth and nose.” Because of the rapid climate change in spring, the cold and temperature are not regulated, and if parents do not take proper care of them, the evil of external influences can easily invade the lungs through the skin, mouth and nose, so children can easily develop the above diseases. Moderator: What kind of diseases are more suitable for children to see TCM? Chen Yonghui: Chinese medicine has a long history and has great advantages in the prevention and treatment of diseases. In terms of TCM pediatrics, there are many common diseases in pediatrics, such as respiratory system diseases, digestive system diseases, as well as some chronic and functional diseases and immune diseases, etc. TCM has better treatment methods. For example, pediatric enuresis is a very common childhood disease, because there is no good treatment method in Western medicine, through internal Chinese medicine, together with external treatment methods, such as ear acupuncture, the effect is still very satisfactory. Netizen: My child is in the fifth grade and especially likes to play video games. Now I find that he often blinks habitually, more often than normal, what should I do? Now I don’t let him play games anymore, but I don’t see any improvement in the situation. Chen Yonghui: In addition to the child blinking, if there are also symptoms such as shaking the head, shrugging the shoulders and clearing the throat, this may be a sign of childhood tic disorder. The cause of this disease is not completely clear yet, but it is closely related to watching TV and playing games excessively. The only way to get a clear diagnosis is to take the child to the hospital and then treat the child symptomatically. If it is a tic disorder, parents must restrict their children from watching TV and playing games. If this cannot be done, simply relying on medication will not have a good effect, and this disease is more difficult to treat. The main reason for this is that it is very difficult to get a good understanding of the situation. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers. Western medicine treatment course of the disease is also relatively long, generally need about three years. If this is the case it is still necessary to go to the hospital to see and actively treat. The actual fact is that you can find a lot of people who are not able to get a lot of money for their own personal use. Is there any medicine to grow taller? Is there a good way for Chinese medicine? Chen Yonghui: In the clinical clinic, many parents say their children are thin and small, compared with their peers. Because each child’s situation is different, to determine whether the child is stunted, the first thing to look at height, weight is within the normal range, if within the normal range and there are no other symptoms, there is no problem, this is the parents’ concept of the problem, the actual weight, height are in the normal range, then do not worry about it. In addition to the routine physical examination, if necessary, go to the endocrinology department of the hospital to check and exclude organic lesions, if it is caused by growth hormone deficiency, you can apply growth hormone. On the other hand, you can use traditional Chinese medicine. I have also treated children with growth retardation caused by growth hormone deficiency, and after taking traditional Chinese medicine for half a year, their appetite, height and weight have improved, but it takes a longer time. Moderator: What factors will influence parents to bring their children to Chinese medicine? Chen Yonghui: I consider the following main reasons: First, parents do not know enough about the advantages of TCM pediatrics in treating diseases, especially for some very common diseases in pediatrics, TCM has a good therapeutic effect, and parents often lack understanding of TCM. Secondly, parents worry that their children will have difficulty taking medication, which will affect the treatment effect. In fact, TCM treatment is not simply a way to take tonics, there are now many oral dosage forms that are more suitable for children, such as granules and oral liquids. Third, TCM treatment is slow and takes a long time to treat, which is one of the reasons why some parents are reluctant to take their children to TCM. TCM treatment can also be combined with some traditional external treatments, such as compressing, tui na, chiropractic, massage, etc. Since acupuncture is a traumatic treatment measure that is not easily accepted by children, we generally do not use it. We now choose methods that are non-invasive and more acceptable to children, and the results are better. Through internal and external treatment, we generally achieve better treatment results. Netizen: My child often has diarrhea, what should I do? I went to the hospital and saw that there was nothing wrong. Chen Yonghui: This child’s case may be a simple indigestion from the perspective of Western medicine, from the perspective of Chinese medicine may be related to the spleen and stomach dysfunction. Because traditional Chinese medicine says that children are often deficient in the spleen, diseases such as diarrhea, anorexia and stagnation are related to spleen and stomach dysfunction. Therefore, it is recommended that he take his child to the hospital to see a Chinese medicine doctor, and this condition is usually better treated through Chinese medicine. Netizen: A girl, 9 years old, does not like to eat, her bones are as thin as wood, she always has no appetite, she can’t eat anything. Chen Yonghui: Anorexia is a common digestive system disease in children, and the incidence of urban children is very high now. According to Chinese medicine, it is also related to spleen and stomach disharmony and spleen deficiency. According to the child’s condition, if other diseases are ruled out, anorexia, accompanied by a situation like thin bones, is generally considered to be related to spleen deficiency, because traditional Chinese medicine says “the spleen is the origin of the latter, the source of biochemical energy and blood”, because of spleen deficiency, dysfunction of transportation and transformation, long time not to eat, biochemical energy and blood lack of source, resulting in the above-mentioned disease. This condition is regulated by herbal medicine and generally has a better effect. Netizen: Children have internal fire, how to regulate Chinese medicine? Chen Yonghui: We need to know what the child’s specific manifestations are before we can determine which aspect of internal fire is present, and then give targeted treatment. For example, if a child has bad breath, mouth ulcers, or dry stools, if these conditions are present, the child should be considered to have stomach fire. If the child has a cough, red and sore throat, or yellow runny nose, consider lung fire. If the child cries at night, sleeps restlessly, and has yellow urine, these conditions should be considered to be related to heart fire. If the child is irritable and irritable, which affects learning, and is accompanied by a bitter mouth and dry throat, red face and eyes, yellow urine and constipation, this may be related to liver fire. It is important to use medicine according to different situations, because many medicines are selective and herbal prescriptions are very flexible. Moderator: Finally, can Dr. Chen summarize for you what is the focus of TCM conditioning? Chen Yonghui: The main thing is to regulate the spleen and stomach. As I said earlier, “the spleen and stomach are the foundation of the postnatal period and the source of qi and blood biochemistry”. Therefore, if the spleen and stomach are strong and there is enough qi and blood, the child’s body will be more resistant and less prone to disease.