Chinese medicine and its ancient practices

Download MBW Information Pack

Business News

Chinese medicine and its ancient practices

FG_AUTHORS: Super User

BBC News - In Pictures: Chinese medicine and its ancient practices

2 August 2012 Last updated at16:46

Dr Chau Lai Chung has practised Chinese medicine for more than 30 years. One of the traditional ways of diagnosis is by taking a patient’s pulse. This technique is also used in Ayurveda, or Indian medicine. Chinese practitioners take the pulse on several points on each arm.
Just like in modern-day medicine, Dr Chau also gives a proper prescription of Chinese drugs to his patients.
After diagnosing the patient, Dr Chau gets his assistant to prepare the medicine by gathering all the ingredients. She prefers to use a Chinese scale that measures in a traditional unit called mace, equivalent to 3.78 grams.
Dr Chau keeps commonly used medicinal ingredients at his clinic. He says Chinese doctors commonly work with up to 2,000 herbs.
There are another 400 or so animal and mineral ingredients. Medicines containing bear bile, extracted from the gallbladders of live bears, are not totally banned in Hong Kong, but are seldom used.
Traditional Chinese medicine also has its own version of the pharmacy where one can buy the various ingredients to use in the medicine or in some cases even the pre-prepared medicines.
According to the World Health Organisation, the global market for herbal medicines is worth more than $83bn (£53bn), and is growing. In China alone, the industry produced almost $48bn worth of such medicines in 2010. That is up almost 30% from the year before.
For some medicines the ingredients are cooked in a traditional clay pot, a type used for thousands of years. The ancient thinking goes that according to the five elements theory, clay represents earth and herbs represent wood, so the elements are in harmony. Modern practitioners use them because clay heats evenly and is non-reactive.
After more than two hours of cooking, the concoction must be strained. It yields only one or two cups of concentrated, bitter liquid. Patients unable to stomach the contents sometimes ask their doctor to sweeten the brew with honey. Sugar is rarely used.
Dr Chau supplements his medicine with acupuncture, which is believed to improve the body’s internal balance. He places one needle in each arm and one in each leg, in this case.
For some cures he uses a process called Moxibustion. This involves wrapping the ingredients in paper and burning them. He then uses the heat and smoke to burn on to the patient's skin. In some cases daily treatments can cost HK$300 ($38; £24), which is considered expensive by local standards.

Prev Next Page:

AUDIO: A decade of chip and pin

20-05-2013 Hits:4 Business News Super User

It is a decade since the first person in the UK used a chip and pin card to pay for goods....

AUDIO: BCC: Support UK manufacturing

20-05-2013 Hits:5 Business News Super User

The British Chambers of Commerce say the number of small and medium sized business actively exporting has risen - but there needs to be better support for UK manufacturing....

VIDEO: Wikipedia founder on Yahoo's Tumblr deal

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

The BBC talks to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales about Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr, in a $1.1bn deal....

Actavis agrees Warner Chilcott deal

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

US drugs maker Actavis, itself the subject of bid speculation, agrees to buy Dublin-based rival Warner Chilcott for $8.5bn (£5.6bn) including debt....

VIDEO: 'Little more fairness' from US firms on tax

20-05-2013 Hits:1 Business News Super User

Financial expert Martin Lewis said it was "time we had a little more fairness" from American firms such as Amazon, Starbucks and Google over their tax affairs in the UK....

How Tumblr fell into Yahoo's hands

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

Why Yahoo thinks blogging platform Tumblr is worth more than $1bn...

VIDEO: The future Ethiopia only dreamed of

20-05-2013 Hits:1 Business News Super User

George Alagiah reports on how Ethiopia has overcome adversity and is now showing some of the fastest growth rates in the world....

Tax credits scam email warning

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

People who receive tax credits are being warned about scam emails being sent out by fraudsters in an attempt to gather card details and passwords....

FirstGroup stock hit by rights issue

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

Transport company FirstGroup has announced a £615m rights issue in a bid reduce its debt after its full year profit dropped by over a third....

VIDEO: Simpler energy tariffs but higher bills?

20-05-2013 Hits:5 Business News Super User

Energy customers can face choices including a "two-year capped price plan 2" or a "blue plus price promise February 2015" when choosing gas and electricity tariffs....

VIDEO: Yahoo 'to buy Tumblr for £1.1bn'

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

Yahoo's board has approved a deal to buy New York-based blogging service Tumblr for $1.1bn (£725m), US media reports say....

VIDEO: Buoyant markets lure day traders

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

The upswing in global stock markets continues with another strong start to the week that has seen shares climbing in Asia, and the return of day traders....

Airport increases European flights

20-05-2013 Hits:5 Business News Super User

New European scheduled flights to Amsterdam, Paris, Milan and Geneva are announced by Cambridge Airport....

JP Morgan boss in shareholder revolt

20-05-2013 Hits:5 Business News Super User

JP Morgan chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon is facing a shareholder revolt as investors prepare to vote on whether he should be allowed to keep both jobs....

High inflation 'cost UK GDP £10bn'

20-05-2013 Hits:7 Business News Super User

High inflation has cost the UK economy £10bn over the last three years, says an influential report, and has now become a "permanent fixture"....

FirstGroup plans £600m rights issue

20-05-2013 Hits:4 Business News Super User

Transport company FirstGroup has announced a £615m rights issue in a bid reduce its debt after its full year profit dropped by over a third....

Ryanair profits at record high

20-05-2013 Hits:7 Business News Super User

Discount airline Ryanair reports record full-year profits and rising revenues despite soaring fuel costs, but hits out at "bizarre" EU takeover decision....

Business leaders attack Eurosceptics

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

A number of prominent business leaders accuse those calling for Britain to leave the European Union of "putting politics before economics"....

PM warns overseas territories on tax

20-05-2013 Hits:6 Business News Super User

David Cameron has called on British overseas territories to "get their house in order" and sign up to international treaties on tax....

How to hack a nation's infrastructure

20-05-2013 Hits:10 Business News Super User

Looking through CCTV feeds that should not be public...

The cassette makes a comeback

20-05-2013 Hits:7 Business News Super User

The company making money from selling cassette tapes...

Not your typical multimillionaire

20-05-2013 Hits:7 Business News Super User

The surprising life of a multi-millionaire...

Graduate job opportunities 'rising'

20-05-2013 Hits:7 Business News Super User

More jobs will become available for graduates this year, research firm Income Data Services (IDS) has forecast, but pay is likely to be frozen....

China's global ambitions

19-05-2013 Hits:8 Business News Super User

How will China spend its massive cash reserves?...

VIDEO: Former Google employee on tax deals

19-05-2013 Hits:8 Business News Super User

A former Google employee has said he is providing evidence to the tax authorities about how the internet giant avoided paying corporation tax in Britain by using its offices in Dublin to finalise deals....

Yahoo 'to buy Tumblr for $1.1bn'

19-05-2013 Hits:8 Business News Super User

Yahoo's board has approved a deal to buy New York-based blogging service Tumblr for $1.1bn (£725m; 857m euros), US media reports say....

Google chief defends tax affairs

19-05-2013 Hits:9 Business News Super User

Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt defends the company's tax affairs after it comes in for strong criticism from MPs....

Miliband pledge on tax avoidance

19-05-2013 Hits:9 Business News Super User

Labour leader Ed Miliband says he will write new rules to tackle corporate tax avoidance if he wins the next election, even without international agreement....

Miliband: Firms must pay fair tax

19-05-2013 Hits:9 Business News Super User

Labour leader Ed Miliband says he will write new rules to tackle corporate tax avoidance if he wins the next election, even without international agreement....

Treasury claims banks 'safer in UK'

19-05-2013 Hits:12 Business News Super User

The latest UK government paper on the impact of Scottish independence will claim the UK is better placed to manage the risk of a financial crisis....

Bank governor in Help to Buy warning

18-05-2013 Hits:10 Business News Super User

The outgoing Bank of England governor warns a government plan to boost the housing market with part-mortgage guarantees has no long-term place....

Governor warns over housing plans

18-05-2013 Hits:11 Business News Super User

The outgoing governor of the Bank of England warns a government plan to boost the housing market should not become permanent....

Thousands rally to oppose Italy cuts

18-05-2013 Hits:7 Business News Super User

Tens of thousands of protesters, led by trade unionists, rally in the Italian capital Rome against the policies of the new coalition government....

Should we all be more psychopathic?

18-05-2013 Hits:8 Business News Super User

Should we all be more psychopathic at work?...

Contactless 'charging errors' at M&S

18-05-2013 Hits:34 Business News Super User

Some Marks and Spencer customers say its contactless payment terminals have taken cash from cards other than the ones intended for payment....

Ofcom plans simplified phone numbers

18-05-2013 Hits:16 Business News Super User

Some people are "put off" making important calls because of confusion over the amount they will be charged, according to the telecoms regulator....

VIDEO: Turkey's 'Italian' makeover underway

17-05-2013 Hits:8 Business News Super User

At a time of economic doom and gloom across much of Europe - the credit rating for Turkey has been upgraded....

Europe's outlook: Cheer or jeer?

17-05-2013 Hits:10 Business News Super User

Should we cheer or jeer at Europe's prospects?...

VIDEO: Morrisons announces deal with Ocado

17-05-2013 Hits:10 Business News Super User

Morrisons has agreed a deal with internet grocer Ocado as it prepares to offer shoppers the option to buy good online....

VIDEO: Hugh’s review: Is the economy turning?

17-05-2013 Hits:11 Business News Super User

Hugh Pym and guests discuss the Bank of England's optimistic forecasts on growth and inflation...

VIDEO: Europe on road to more austere measures?

17-05-2013 Hits:12 Business News Super User

Europe's GDP shrank by 0.2% in the first three months of this year as politicians debate whether to carry on with austerity plans or to change course....

Spain reports monthly trade surplus

17-05-2013 Hits:13 Business News Super User

Spain records its first monthly trade surplus in more than 40 years as demand for imports dries up....

Quantifying the benefits of HS2

17-05-2013 Hits:13 Business News Super User

How will HS2 produce £48.2bn in benefits to society?...

VIDEO: European week in 60 seconds

17-05-2013 Hits:10 Business News Super User

The political week in Europe is reviewed in 60 seconds by David Thompson who looks back over the headlines from London, Strasbourg and Brussels, including the EU budget, fishing numbers, alleged price fixing in the oil market, and European staff set to go on strike....