If you’ve ever looked at your tongue and been aghast to see a thick, furry, greasy looking coat on it, then you may have been tempted to try scraping it off. Boots the Chemist even sells handy little gadgets that will help you to do this, claiming that the presence of the coating is causing […]
Author Archive | MairiC
A Day in the Life of an Acupuncturist
Someone asked me the other day what a typical day is like for an Acupuncturist, and the answer is that it varies – sometimes a lot. For example, I looked at my diary for this time last year and this is a flavour of what I was treating: a young woman with severe neurological pain […]
Acupuncture During Pregnancy – Yes, it’s safe!
A significant part of my practice is treating women who are either trying to become pregnant, or are already pregnant. Once pregnant, most women are happy to come back for treatment of issues like nausea and vomiting, back pain, and of course ‘pre-birth treatments’ (intended to assist the profile of hormones that are naturally present […]
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
As I’ve written elsewhere, gastro-intestinal conditions are amongst the most common to be seen in Acupuncture clinics. Broadly these conditions might be grouped as 1) Non serious digestive complaints that can often be treated with changes to diet, lifestyle, over the counter medication, and alternative treatments such as acupuncture; and 2) Chronic gastro-intestinal conditions that […]
What your toes and elbows reveal about the state of your gastro-intestinal tract
Some of the most common complaints to be seen in clinic arise from irritation or inflammation of the stomach, intestines and bowel. Often it will be clear what the problem is. For example, if there is acid reflux, or burning pain (mild or intense) in the area just below the breast bone (epigastrium), and the […]
The Curious Signs of ‘Silent’ Gallstones
The shelves of anyone practising any kind of health care are groaning with books of all kinds – ranging from expensive, glossy, stunningly-illustrated, highly technical and complicated ones to cheap, plain and simple. Most people have their favourites, perhaps a handful, or maybe just one book, that always has something to offer, and a couple […]
The Beijing Blind Massage Hospital
On weekday afternoons my two colleagues and I are attending the Beijing Blind Massage Hospital to learn Tuina massage. Tuina is a form of medical massage that has been used in China for 2,000 years to treat both internal disease and painful muscular–skeletal conditions. It uses the traditional Chinese medical theory of the flow of […]
First days in Dr Wang’s clinic
The clinic I am attending here in Beijing is owned by Dr Wang who, although officially retired, still works in both a public hospital and his own private clinic. His clinic was one of the first fully private clinics in Beijing, and patients pay the full cost of their treatments, unlike treatment in the public […]
Eastern and Western Medicine, working together
Today, we saw two patients who have been diagnosed with cancer. One, a 57 year old woman, has been told she has Stage 4 lung cancer. However, she is unable to accept the diagnosis, and refuses to have a biopsy to confirm it. Dr Wang urges her on every visit to take this test, while […]
Experience in Beijing
In late 2013 I spent a month in Beijing undertaking advantaged practitioner level training and learning Tuina massage. Much of my time was spent observing in the clinic of Dr Wang, a practitioner of Chinese medicine for 50 years. Former posts held by Dr. Wang included: chief physician of the Acupuncture Department of Beijing Hospital […]
