Traditional Chinese Medicine Discussion

CAN Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) join hands to treat cancer patients?

If you asked Prof Li FuMin, a Singapore-based consultant TCM practitioner who specialises in immunology and oncology, the answer is yes. In fact, an integration of both techniques is more beneficial than using any of them alone, he says, but only if doctors from both sides talked to each other more often.

“Both Western and TCM have their individual strengths and weaknesses. And cancer is a unique disease that neither of them can treat nor cure fully,” Li, 68, explains when met in Kuala Lumpur recently. “That is why integrating the two might be more efficient in treating the disease.”

Although his statement might appeal to conventional logic, barriers to an integrative approach in cancer treatment have thus far prevented it from becoming a widespread reality. The lack of communication and mutual trust between practitioners from both systems are among two of them.

“In China, where Western medicine and TCM are deemed equal, and medical students from both systems are required to have basic knowledge of the other medical system, there is generally greater integration in the approach,” Li said. In other places, where complementary medicine is still regarded with a huge dose of scepticism, patients can find it more difficult to benefit from both systems.

“Sometimes patients are told to completely avoid consuming traditional Chinese medicines when they are on conventional cancer treatment,” Li laments. But on the contrary, TCM can play a supportive role to cancer treatment, he added.

Elaborating on the way Western medicine and TCM are usually integrated in cancer treatment today, Prof Li offered: “Usually, patients will go through the conventional therapies like surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy first before they go for TCM therapies.

“It can act as a complementary therapy that could help alleviate some of the side effects of these cancer treatments, regulate patients’ body systems to improve their quality of life and prevent the recurrence of cancer once the disease is stabilised.”

This is the way Li would suggest his patients go about it too. “After being diagnosed with cancer, many patients will consult many doctors, trained both in Western medicine and TCM. But I would always advise my patients to seize the opportunity to remove the tumour or go for chemotherapy or radiotherapy first.

“After that, TCM can help them with side effects and their recovery. It can also help reduce the chances of recurrence when taken long-term,” he explained.

The reason for this approach is a very practical one, because TCM practitioners could not diagnose cancer.

“The claim that traditional Chinese medicine practitioners could diagnose cancer is a fallacy,” Li emphasised. First of all, many cancers have little or no symptoms until it reaches a late stage, which make diagnosis through the TCM way (observation of external symptoms and enquiries into a patients’ lifestyle) difficult, if not impossible.

Second, as TCM practitioners deduce the presence of a disease or ailments by relating certain groups of external symptoms to unhealthy changes inside the body, it is also difficult to diagnose a highly variable disease like cancer accurately.

“Cancers can manifest in very different ways in individuals, and we now know that external symptoms may sometimes mislead us in our diagnosis,” Li said. “That is why, to diagnose cancer, or other diseases, for that matter, we need to use modern diagnostic facilities,” he added.

Besides leaving the diagnosis to Western medicine, Li also stressed the importance of communication between attending doctors from both systems of medicine, particularly when a patient goes for conventional cancer treatment and TCM at the same time.

“When patients go for both treatments separately without informing their doctors about the other treatment, they may risk being repeatedly treated, over-treated, or mistreated. For instance, if you are about to go for a surgery, a traditional Chinese herb that increases your blood flow may cause you to bleed excessively during the procedure,” he said.

You would also be better off if you consult a TCM doctor who specialises in cancer treatment and understands conventional cancer treatment.

“In cancer treatments, only when the TCM doctor understands his patient’s condition and the procedures his patient had undergone completely will he be able to prescribe the best treatment to suit his patient’s needs,” said Li, who also reads his patients medical records, X-rays and laboratory results when they are referred to him.

“And just like Western Medicine, TCM doctors can specialise in the treatment of certain diseases as well,” Li said.

In Malaysia, although there are efforts in integrating TCM and other traditional complementary medicine systems into public hospitals, the recognition of TCM as a complementary therapy for cancer treatment is still limited.

However, said Malaysian Oncological Society president Datuk Dr Mohd Ibrahim Wahid, many cancer patients undergoing treatment still seek alternative treatment, with or without their oncologists’ consent or knowledge.

“So, even if we strongly oppose it, it doesn’t help the total care of the patient,” he said.

And since his patients are going to go for alternative medicine like TCM anyway, he prefers to know about it. “If (TCM) is used as a complementary therapy, and if it has no unsafe or untoward interactions with the treatments we are giving our patients, then we have no problems with that,” he said.

“We are only concerned when patients rely solely on traditional treatments as an alternative to conventional treatment and delay appropriate treatment. This is because it will jeopardise our chances of curing or treating the cancer,” he added.

So, if cancer patients undergoing treatment are taking alternative medicine, Dr Ibrahim strongly advises them to inform their oncologists.

“Even when we are still not exactly sure how these medicines interact with conventional cancer treatment, we can monitor our patients’ condition with blood tests to ensure that their condition do not worsen as a result,” he says.

The way forward, as Dr Ibrahim sees it, is for oncologists to work together with TCM practitioners for the benefit of cancer patients. “We can’t say that Western medicine can cure every ailment, and we can’t say that Chinese medicine can cure every ailment too.

“Maybe by working together, patients can have the best of both worlds and they can be reassured that we are doing the best we can to give them the best possible care,” he said.

Repressed emotions can cause disease. How this disease manifests in each of us is completely individualized. Releasing emotions can heal disease. Even cancer. Even diseases that Western medicine deems incurable.

Perhaps these notions seem presumptuous, yet they have been well-documented by the investigative tools of Western science, and are also found within the tenets of global healing traditions worldwide.

Anger, fear, and sadness: These are three primary emotions that may be causes of disease. They are normal and natural feelings, and we all experience them as natural aspects of our wonderful humanness. But when these feelings remain internalized without avenues for expression and release, they can create a vibrational state in our body-mind that disrupts our natural homeostatic balance.

This imbalance can express itself in body-mind symptoms. I use the term body-mind because these symptoms can express themselves in physical symptoms or as emotional symptoms or both. When symptoms become loud enough, we may have a label for them in Western medicine—a disease.

Repressed Emotions

Where do repressed emotions come from? This depends on your worldview.

First, they may come from experiences that we’ve had in this lifetime that were traumatic. Most often, in early childhood, this occurs after we lose the wonderful state of being unselfconscious and become aware and attuned and sensitive to the experiences around us. We may have experiences that are painful emotionally, and one natural response may be to protect ourselves and internalize these emotions.

Another source of repressed emotions may be past-life experiences. If this concept is challenging, I ask you to suspend any disbelief and read on. There exists a wide body of research, conducted by reputable scientists, supporting the veracity of this phenomenon. Again, details are beyond the scope here, but please write for details if you’re interested.

Past-life experiences that were traumatic and were not healed during past incarnations may have been carried with us as we entered our present body-mind in this lifetime. Interestingly, this worldview of past lives is shared by most global healing traditions. These healing traditions accommodate and utilize the notion in their understanding and treatment of health and illness.

Often it is easier, given the paradigm of Western medicine, to first consider the physical body, symptoms, or “dis”-ease. Focusing on the physical body can be a starting point for healing and transformation on many levels. Yet unless we address emotional roots and links, we cannot heal completely on any level.

Our thoughts, emotions, and physical symptoms are intimately linked.

Most familiar in the West are traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, two systems that have found footing on our shores. These systems link bodily symptoms and emotions. In Chinese medicine, the lung is the repository for grief, the liver for rage, and the kidney for fear. In Ayurveda, the vata dosha may yield arthritis and worry; the pitta, ulcers and rage. It may be helpful to consider these connections when reflecting upon your own health concerns.

There are many, many ways to enable healing. I will briefly summarize some of these.

Some tools and techniques are “passive”; others are “active.” Passive approaches are those that are done to you, such as acupuncture and massage. Active ones are those that you can do yourself, completely on your own, such as pranayama, or breathing exercises. Active techniques can be truly empowering, but passive ones are useful too. Sometimes it is helpful to have an experience to shift one’s body-mind state without having to put forth a lot of effort.

Breath and Food

Breath is the fuel and life force for our body-mind. Western science has well documented the relationship between respiration and physical and emotional health. Interestingly, this is an inherent tenet of global healing traditions. Qi and prana are considered life force in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, respectively. Without breath, we do not exist.

Compromised breathing can cause illness; optimized breathing can enable healing. Learning natural breathing as well as specialized breathing techniques can affect our body-mind, our emotional state, and can be a conduit to emotional healing.

Food is medicine for our body-mind. All foods have effects on our emotional states. These effects are unique to each of us. Hippocrates, considered the father of Western medicine, wrote of these concepts. He believed that “food should by thy medicine and thy medicine food,” and also taught that it is “more important to know the patient that has the disease than to know what disease the patient has.” 

Particular Therapies

Any therapeutic modality affects both body and mind, hence the term body-mind. This is so even in Western medicine. There are many approaches, tools, techniques, and systems. The following is merely a list, not exhaustive, for your consideration:

Energy medicine techniques; energy psychology techniques; body-centered therapies such as Rolfing; Ayurvedic treatments and bodywork; Chinese medicine approaches, including acupuncture; manual therapies such as chiropractic and osteopathy, vibrational medicine such as flower essences; herbal therapies; homeopathy; the various techniques of yoga traditions; past-life therapy; breath-work therapy; creative self-expressive therapies; writing or journaling therapies; and movement therapies. Some of these require a practitioner, some of these you can do on your own.

Some final suggestions: Be gentle and patient with yourself. The greatest healer lies within you, not within the office of any practitioner or the scope of any technique or system. Healing is a journey of exploration and growth, a journey that will only and always lead to a greater sense of well-being.

SOME couples struggle to conceive, especially when infertility might be an underlying problem.

And besides undergoing Western fertility treatments, some are turning to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for help.

TCM treatments include herbal remedies and acupuncture, which are meant to bring the body into balance and thus facilitate conception.

But those who turn to TCM should know that TCM isn’t a quick fix, said physician Loh Kim Gek, 55.

As with Western medicine, a substantial amount of time and patience may be required before a couple sees a successful result.

With TCM, couples need to undergo at least nine to 12 months of consistent treatment, said Ms Loh, who is one of four physicians at the fertility unit in free clinic Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution.

Ms Loh, who has more than 20 years of experience, added: “I feel a sense of satisfaction when my patients bring along their babies to meet me. It makes me very happy.”

She has helped about 30 per cent of some 900 couples to conceive.

She said that the success rate could have been as high as 50 per cent if some of those couples had stuck to their treatment without giving up halfway.

Although women are traditionally blamed for fertility problems, Ms Loh said that, in seven out of 10 cases, the problem actually lies with the male.

She will give a talk on Saturday to explain how TCM can help to boost fertility, and how one can improve one’s constitution. my paper gets her to answer some questions from readers.

Why would TCM be better than Western medicine in fertility treatments?

MS JOEY GWEE, 25

Ms Loh: TCM treatment for gynaecological problems has a long history in China, and has proved to be effective.

To me, TCM and Western medicine serve complementary needs. TCM treats the root problem, while Western medicine tackles the symptoms.

For instance, if you have ovulation problems or problems with the quality of your ovaries, TCM treatment - which comprises Chinese medicine as well as acupuncture - can improve the function of the ovaries. TCM can also help strengthen men’s sperm to enable a higher chance of conception.

But if you have problems such as a blockage in your fallopian tube due to ovarian cysts, then I would recommend Western treatment to remove them. My wife and I have been trying to have a baby for two years.

What can we do to improve our chances of conceiving?

MR J. Y. QUEK, 31

Ms Loh: Firstly, you should learn how to be free of worry. When people are anxious, it will affect the quality of a woman’s ovaries and the effectiveness of sperm. In my talk, I will share some simple methods for relieving stress.

Secondly, you need to build up your constitution and prevent development of illnesses. Illnesses during the ovulation period can greatly affect conception.

You can improve your general health by drinking teas, such as chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea, boiled dried longan, American ginseng and red dates, or wolfberry and lily tea with some brown sugar. But do consult your TCM physician to see if these are suitable for your condition, and seek treatment as soon as possible.

   As 2010 dawns, the turning of a decade gives people a great opportunity to get their affairs in order - and for some, fengshui too.

    The streets to the west of Yonghegong, or Lama Temple, are lined with shops selling new fengshui calendars and books, along with the usual incense. And traders say it is not just elderly people snapping them up.

    “We get all kinds of customers here,” said a shopkeeper surnamed Wang, who has the exclusive rights to sell fengshui calendars whose covers sport a smiling Li Juming, a Hong Kong practitioner.

    “Young tourists are always buying calendars for themselves or their parents.”

    The peak time for sales is the Spring Festival. The trader said she will buy in a large amount of stock for the rush.

    Fengshui is gaining interest among young people in China. An online survey of about 600 people conducted by METRO on social networking website Renren.com last week found that around 70 percent said they, more or less, believe in fengshui.

    Pang Bo, a 24-year-old university student in Beijing, is a believer despite an education background of computer science.

    Pang thinks fengshui arrangements of interior design helps visitors feel comfortable.

   Pang said he felt uneasy when he stepped into a hotel room he had booked in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, last month.

    “It was the interior decoration,” he said. “The dressing mirror on the wall faced the bed, which made me feel uncomfortable.”

    But some of his friends said Pang was superstitious.

    Pang admitted that most of the time he didn’t know how to explain it.

    Wang Haohua, a fengshui practitioner in Beijing, told METRO that young people, especially white-collar workers, are now his biggest clients, along with executives with large enterprises.

    “The most frequent questions asked by young people are about their career paths and their relationships,” Wang said. 

    Wang said fengshui, which translates as “wind water”, is a set of knowledge that people use to improve their living environment in ancient China. Fengshui knowledge could be dated back to 3,000 years ago.

    He said it still cannot be explained by science but that does not mean it is wrong.

    “It is just like traditional Chinese medicine; sometimes difficult to illustrate but effective,” he said.

    Wang added that there were also people who followed the advice of fengshui masters just for psychological comfort.

     Zhang Xixi, 23, is a Beijing office worker born in the year of the tiger.

    As 2010 sees the return of the tiger, Zhang said she was told by a fengshui practitioner to visit a temple to avoid bad luck.

    “I don’t know much about fengshui but after going to the temple I feel safe and comfortable about the new year,” she told METRO. “Everyone needs good luck, right?”

Although fengshui has enjoyed somewhat of a comeback across the world in recent years, the argument between science and superstition has raged for decades.

In late 2008, the University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei province, offered a course covering the “architecture of fengshui”.

However, it was cancelled after criticism on campus and in the media.

Tao Shilong, a famous geologist in his 80s, said fengshui is superstition in an article posted online.

“For me, a fengshui practitioner is no different from a fortuneteller or palm reader,” said one college student on an online forum.

Hou Wenxia, who opened a consultancy firm close to the Confucius Temple, said it is hard to reason with.

“It is not easy for young people to understand its philosophical foundation,” he said. “Fengshui is closely associated with ancient Chinese culture and philosophy.

“Some people say it is superstitious. I think at its core, fengshui calls for harmony between human beings and nature.”

Source: China Daily

    A  survey was recently conducted in Hong Kong on the cancer patients’attitudes towards Chinese medicine treatment. Methods Cancer patients from three Chinese medicine clinics and one oncology clinic were interviewed with a structured questionnaire.

    Results Of a total of 786 participants included in the study, 42.9% used Western medicine only; 57.1% used at least one form of Chinese medicine; 5 participants used Chinese medicine only; and 56.5% used Chinese medicine before/during/after Western medicine treatment. Commonly used Western medicine and Chinese medicine treatments included chemotherapy (63.7%), radiotherapy (62.0%), surgery (57.6%), Chinese herbal medicine (53.9%) and Chinese dietary therapy (9.5%).

    Participants receiving chemotherapy used Chinese medicine (63.3%) more than those receiving any other Western medicine treatments. Spearman correlation coefficients showed that the selection of Chinese medicine was associated with the cancer type (rs=-1.36; P<0.001), stage (rs=0.178; P<0.001), duration (rs=-0.074; P=0.037), whether receiving chemotherapy (rs=0.165; P<0.001) and palliative therapy (rs=0.087; P=0.015).

    Nearly two-thirds of the participants (N=274) did not tell their physicians about using Chinese medicine. Over two-thirds of all participants (68.2%) believed that integrated Chinese and Western medicine was effective.Conclusion Chinese medicine is commonly used among Hong Kong cancer patients.

    The interviewed cancer patients in Hong Kong considered integrative Chinese and Western medicine is an effective cancer treatment.
Source: Chinese Medicine 2009, 4:25

DeKosky and colleagues reported in the Dec. 23/30 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association that the hot-selling herbal supplement ginkgo biloba doesn’t slow age-related mental decline.

    The six-year clinical study has already shown that ginkgo does not prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s disease in the elderly.

Ginkgo-Biloba Challenged

    Now study leader Steven T. DeKosky, MD, and colleagues have sifted through the data to look for some sign that ginkgo might slow mental decline in healthy, aging individuals — or, perhaps, in those already showing the first signs of cognitive impairment.

    No such sign was found.

    “Compared with placebo, the use of Ginkgo biloba, 120 mg twice daily, did not result in less cognitive decline in older adults with normal cognition or with mild cognitive impairment,” the researchers conclude.

    The problem wasn’t potency. The study used the standardized ginkgo extract from Schwabe Pharmaceuticals that is regulated and sold as a medication in Germany.

    And the problem wasn’t rigorous testing. Twice a year, the 72- to 96-year-old study participants received a battery of tests that measured various aspects of mental function, including memory, attention, visuospatial abilities, language, and executive function.

    Regardless of which mental function was measured, the tests show gingko doesn’t help slow cognitive decline.

    The findings echo those of a 2009 Cochrane Review of ginkgo studies that identified no cognitive benefit from the supplement.

    The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a group representing the supplement industry, suggests that the DeKosky study “should not be viewed as the final work” on ginkgo.

    In a written statement, Douglas MacKay, ND, CRN vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs, notes that cognitive decline has many causes and that neither ginkgo nor any other single treatment is a magic bullet.

    “As a former practicing licensed naturopathic doctor, I have had the benefit of working with patients and have seen first-hand how Ginkgo biloba can be effective in improving cognitive function,” MacKay says. “I would continue to recommend Ginkgo biloba to older adults as a safe, effective option for supporting cognitive health and would encourage consumers to talk to their own healthcare professional about what is right for them.”

Some TCM prescription that may prevent swine flu:

Prescription 1 :
Applying to physical sturdy or over-alcohol crowd, it is consisted of:
Puerarin 15 grams, Radix scutellariae 10 grams, Wrinkled Gianthyssop Herb 10 grams, Raw Wheat seed 10 grams, Raw liquorice 5 grams. Efficacy: removing heat and dampness, relief evil through surface.

Prescription 2:
Applying to physical weakness or spontaneous sweat or getting cold easily crowd, it is consisted of:
Radix astragali 20 grams, Radix sileris 10 grams, Atractylis ovata 10 grams, Honeysuckle flower 10 grams, Raw licorice 5 grams. Efficacy: cleaning and supplement, preventing cold and wind, encouraging Qi, resisting exogenous pathogenic factor.

Prescription 3 :
12 grams of mulberry leaves, chrysanthemum 12 grams, 10 grams of almonds north, leaves 12 grams, 15 grams Puerarin, Health Adlay 15 grams, 15 grams of root, Platycodon 12 grams, 12 grams Phillyrin, Folium 15 grams, silver spent 12 grams, 6 grams licorice, those Chinese herbs mentioned above should be washed and they are soaked in water; 15 minutes should be taken to boil with Wu fire. The recipe taste better. Sugar should not be put in them when taking it.

Prescription 4:
The National Chinese medicine Administrative bureau issued Chinese medicine Prevention Plan of A/ H1N1 Flu. Chinese medicine Prevention Plan of A /H1N1 Flu prescribe traditional Chinese medicine formula on how to prevent flu for different group of the population:

Formula is 10 grams radix pseudostellariae, 6 grams folium perillae, 10 grams radices scutellariae, 10 grams fructus arctii to crowds of fragility and easy affection of exotenous wind-cold.

The formula is 5 grams herba taching, 5 grams Lithospermum officinale L., 5 grams crude liquorice to crowds of red complexion, oral pharynx and sometimes nose dry.

The formula is 10 grams folium perillae, 10 grams herba eupatorii and 10 grams pericarpium citri reticulatae to crowds of dark complexion and sometimes abdominal distension.

The formula is 6 grams ageratum, 6 grams folium perillae, 10 grams FLOS LONICERAE and 10 grams crude hawkthorn to children of easy excessive internal heat and putrid sour breath.

The above decoction for oral use is 1 dose every day which decocted by clear water with once in the morning and evening. 3-5 doses are advisable.

Chinese Herbal Remedy For H1N1 Flu, Treat A Flu With Chinese Herbs, Chinese Herbs Against H1N1 Flu

The outbreak speed of H1N1 flu (swine flu) is fast and nobody would predict precisely to what extent this H1N1 flu (swine flu) will affect human being’s life. In China some hospitals have adopted the traditional Chinese herbal medication to treat this disease and received expected good result. To share this information with all who are concerned with affection of H1N1 flu (swine flu), we present the prescription of Chinese herbal medicine here that was released online by Guangdong Provincial Chinese Herbal Medicine Hospital. This information is purely for your reference and we hold no responsibility for its actual result. The final decision will be made by your local doctor.

Some other flu-related natural prescriptions:
Prescription for symptom of sore throat and heat:
金银花 (Flos Lonicerae / jin yin hua) 15g
连翘 (Weeping Forsythia / lian qiao) 15g
薄荷 (Peppermint / bo he) 10g and the last element to be boiled
荆芥穗 (Spica Schizonepetae / jing jie sui) 10g
牛蒡子 (Greater Burdock / niu pang zi) 15g
桔梗 (Platycodon Root / jie geng) 10g
芦根 (Reed Rhizome / lu geng) 15g
生甘草 (Licorice Roots Northwest Origin / sheng gan cao) 5g

Prescription for symptom of heavy cough:
桑叶 (Mulberry Leaf / sang ye) 15g
菊花 (Florists Chrysanthemum / ju hua) 15g
薄荷 (Peppermint / bo he) 10g and is the last element to be boiled
连翘 (Weeping Forsythia / lian qiao) 15g
芦根 (Reed Rhizome / lu geng) 15g
桔梗 (Platycodon Root / jie geng) 10g
杏仁 (Bitter Apricot Kerne / xing ren) 10g
生甘草 (Licorice Roots Northwest Origin / sheng gan cao) 5g

Children suffering A(H1N1) influenza could benefit from taking Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Beijing traditional Chinese medicine bureau said.

Tu Zhitao, vice-director of the bureau, claimed that children sickened with the flu should be cured within three days.

“Some children will be cured with only one dose (of No 2 Cold Medicine), while others might need two,” Tu said.
As the number of H1N1 sufferers reached 6,196 in Beijing as of Monday, 20 traditional Chinese medicine hospitals opened 24-hour anti-H1N1 departments.

Tamiflu and Relenza are the two approved antiviral drugs that are available for treatment of H1N1. The World Health Organization recommends that all patients (including pregnant women) and all age groups (including young children and infants) should be treated with Tamiflu in the event of severe or deteriorating illness.

The WHO said it was not familiar with the TCM recommended for children and could not comment.

A woman who didn’t provide her name and was in charge of the health policy division of the bureau, told METRO: “This medicine is very effective. Our director’s son has tried it.”

“Western medicines might harm the stomachs of children. Chinese medicine does not have this side effect. This No 2 cold medicine is an upgrade of former anti-flu medicine,” she added.

Cui Xianyu, director of the Korean International School in Beijing said: “We haven’t heard about No 2 cold medicine but we have faith in Chinese medicine.”

“About one month ago, we provided our students with some Chinese medicine to protect them from H1N1 following a requirement from the municipal education commission. They didn’t suffer from any side effects but we did have to close the school for a week after some students were infected,” Cui said.

An employee of the pediatrics department in Xiyuan Hospital at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences said it would open a special anti-H1N1 department today.

The woman, who also did not want to be named, told METRO: “We haven’t received many patients these days. The No 2 cold medicine is basically the same as the ordinary anti-flu Chinese medicine. You can buy it for around 6 yuan.”

Professor Zhai Huaqiang from the School of Chinese Pharmacy at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine believed Chinese medicine might be a cure for H1N1, but it isn’t suitable for everyone.

Sales of a traditional Chinese medicine against swine flu, which its producer says is especially effective for children, have been launched in China, a local newspaper said on Tuesday.

The China Daily quoted the deputy head of the Beijing traditional Chinese medicine bureau as saying that children with the flu should be cured with “No 2 Cold Medicine” within three days.

“Some children will be cured with only one dose, while others might need two,” Tu Zhitao said.

The World Health Organization said it was not familiar with the traditional Chinese medicine recommended for children and could not comment, the paper said.

Tamiflu and Relenza are so far the only two approved antiviral drugs that are available for treatment of the H1N1 virus.

As the number of H1N1 cases reached 6,196 in Beijing as of Monday, 20 traditional Chinese medical hospitals opened 24-hour anti-H1N1 departments, the paper said.

An unidentified bureau official said the traditional Chinese medicine is very effective and does not harm the stomach, unlike western medicines. “Chinese medicine does not have this side effect. This No 2 cold medicine is an upgrade of former anti-flu medicines,” the paper quoted her as saying.

Other experts said the medicine is basically the same as an ordinary Chinese anti-flu drug.

Nearly 50,000 confirmed swine flu cases have been reported in China. Seven people have died of the disease and 118 are in critical condition.

China was the first country to complete tests of a swine flu vaccine and started the vaccination campaign in September. The country plans to produce up to 360 million doses of the vaccine, and is set to allocate a total of $725 million on efforts to curb the disease.

Some terminologies for alternative health:

Acupuncture: Traditional Chinese medicine that uses the placement of needles at specific points of the body to balance the flow of “qi,” or life energy, which Western doctors believe is actually the body’s electrical pathways. The treatments promote relaxation and relieve stress, pain and symptoms caused by a wide array of diseases, from the common cold to AIDS. An estimated 3.1 million American adults and 150,000 children used acupuncture in 2006.

Aromatherapy: A branch of herbal medicine that uses the essential oils extracted from plants and herbs to treat conditions ranging from infections and skin disorders to immune deficiencies and stress. Practitioners believe that the scents of the oils can calm emotions and release stress. The therapy is widely used in Europe and is gaining ground in the United States.

Chiropractic medicine: Chiropractors perform adjustments to the spine in an attempt to correct alignment problems that typically accompany chronic conditions like lower back pain and to support the body’s natural ability to heal itself. About 8 percent of American adults and 3 percent of children, or 20 million Americans, used the therapy in 2006.

Herbal and dietary supplements: Natural supplements can be effective in preventing some diseases. Research is ongoing, but there is evidence that folic acid can prevent birth defects, calcium and Vitamin D can prevent bone loss, and zinc can slow the deterioration of vision. Around 17.7 million Americans in 2006 used natural products, including fish oil, Echinacea, flaxseed oil or pills, and ginseng.

Massage therapy: This ancient healing technique has been practiced in various forms around the world, including in India, China, Japan and Greece, where Hippocrates defined medicine as “the art of rubbing.” Today, massage therapy is used to treat sports injuries, reduce stress and pain, and to ease the symptoms of many diseases and the side effects of their treatments. About 18 million adults and 700,000 children used some sort of massage in 2006.

Meditation, tai chi and yoga: Western doctors are now realizing that the mind and the body are interconnected and that these diverse therapies can prevent falls, enhance balance and aid the body’s immune system. Meditation and other mind-body practices relieve the symptoms of many conditions, including headaches, hypertension and irritable bowel syndrome. About 20 million American adults and 725,000 children practiced some sort of meditation in 2006.

Reiki: A Japanese practice in which providers place their hands lightly on or just above the patient, with the goal of facilitating the patient’s own healing response. Used by people seeking relief from the symptoms and side effects of conventional medical treatment. About 1.2 million adults and 161,000 children tried the therapy in 2006.

SOURCES: The National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine