01 Introduction
When people fall ill, they generally fall into two broad categories: heat syndrome for upper body illnesses and cold syndrome for lower body illnesses. However, some illnesses, despite their cold origins, may present with heat symptoms. Herbal medicine refers to this as virtual-fire, akin to virtual reality, where the root cause remains coldness. How do we differentiate between the two?
02 The Case of Rheumatic Bone Diseases
01 Apparent Virtual-fire
Patients with rheumatic bone diseases often exhibit virtual-fire. The painful areas are cold, yet sores may appear at the corners of the mouth, accompanied by symptoms like pharyngitis, rhinitis, and cough. Since throat, mouth, and nose illnesses are typically caused by heat, how can we determine if the patient is suffering from coldness or heat?
03 The Herbal Approach
According to Dr. Guo Yaning, the root cause of this illness is coldness. Based on Huang Yuanyu’s Theory of the Vital Yuanqi Circle, here’s how it works:
01 Normal Operation of the Vital Yuanqi Circle
In a healthy state, vital yuanqi rises from the spleen to the liver, then to the heart, falls to the lungs, and finally sinks into the kidneys.
02 Problematic Operation of the Vital Yuanqi Circle
Bone diseases occur when there’s a blockage in the vital yuanqi circle, either in the liver or lungs, disrupting the entire system. The kidney subsystem, which is cool like water, needs to be heated for the vital yuanqi to rise. This heat comes from the heart fire descending to warm the kidneys. When kidney water rises, heart fire falls, balancing yin and yang.
If the vital yuanqi circle is blocked, kidney water cannot rise, and heart fire, deprived of kidney water’s nourishment, generates excessive heat, causing heat syndrome in the upper body. Conversely, if heart fire cannot descend, kidney water becomes excessively cold, leading to cold syndrome in the lower body. These cold and heat syndromes are superficial; the root cause is the cold evil-spirit blocking the liver and lungs. Therefore, a professional herbal practitioner should treat the root cause, not just the symptoms.
03 Illness-Spectrum
In traditional herbal medicine, the term illness-spectrum refers to the common illnesses at different times. Forty years ago, acute illnesses, infectious diseases, and critical conditions were prevalent, developing quickly and often being life-threatening. These were considered heat syndromes. Today, chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes are more common. They are not immediately life-threatening but cause prolonged discomfort.
04 Current Treatment
Western medicine has limited treatments for chronic illnesses, and traditional herbal medicine also requires a long-term approach. The protocol involves gradually strengthening the patient’s vital yuanqi to expel the cold evil-spirit, starting with the spleen-stomach subsystem. A strong foundation can prevent illnesses, and a person with abundant vital yuanqi can fend off common colds without medication. Effective treatment depends on both the healer and the patient’s constitution.
The basic strategy for treating chronic conditions involves:
Strengthening the spleen-stomach subsystem.
Treating specific symptoms with personalized prescriptions based on the patient’s condition.
(To be continued)