Doctors in China have been using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the treatment of contagious viral diseases for 3,000-4,000 years. A vast store of classical medical literature exists which has recorded their principles of diagnosis and treatment of epidemics before the era of vaccines and antibiotics, when TCM was the primary choice to combat the outbreaks of such diseases. 

Nowadays, medicine in China can be said to be a kind of hybrid system, which relies primarily on Western medicine, but also recognizes and makes extensive use of TCM.

It is no surprise, therefore, that TCM has apparently played a part in China’s fight against COVID-19, although this has not been widely reported on here in the west.  According to reports from China, Traditional Chinese herbs have been widely used to help treat coronavirus patients in the country, in combination with western medical treatment. We have as yet no independent verification of these reports, but they state that TCM helped relieve symptoms, prevented deterioration, reduced the mortality rate and raised the recovery rate.

For example, a report in the leading Chinese English language newspaper, The China Daily, said;

“A total of 74,187 confirmed patients, which account for 91.5 percent of the total infections on the Chinese mainland, have been administered TCM as part of their treatment, and over 90 percent of them have shown improvement, according to Yu Yanhong, Party secretary and top official of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.”

https://covid-19.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/24/WS5e79429fa310128217281624.html

Another report in the paper stated:

“Symptoms have disappeared in 51 cases and improved in 268, with another 212 remaining in stable condition, said Li, adding that the decoction was recommended to medical institutions nationwide on Feb. 6 after data analysis on 214 cases.

Li also shared the analysis and statistics cases with detailed clinical records, as 94.6 percent of the 112 patients restored to normal body temperature, and 80.6 percent of 214 patients stopped coughing after using the decoction for six days.

TCM has been used in treating 60,107 confirmed cases in China, or 85.2 percent of the total, according to Jiang.”

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2002172235/

While these reports are quite encouraging, and suggest a potential source of very valuable tools in the fight against COVID-19, I should stress that they could reflect some bias or even propaganda on the part of the Chinese authorities and really need to be confirmed by objective scientific researchers in the West.

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National Health Commission & State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine released the Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia. This protocol is the latest version 7, published on 3rd March.

[su_button url=”http://www.chinacdc.cn/jkzt/crb/zl/szkb_11803/jszl_11815/202003/W020200305456621460977.pdf” style=”flat” background=”#d21012″ color=”#ffffff” size=”3″ radius=”0″]Chinese original version : PDF[/su_button]

[su_button url=”http://www.kankyokansen.org/uploads/uploads/files/jsipc/protocol_V7.pdf” style=”flat” background=”#d21012″ color=”#ffffff” size=”3″ radius=”0″]English translated version : PDF[/su_button]

This protocol includes several suggested TCM herbal formulas (see section No.4), according to the classification of the patient’s condition as mild, moderate, severe, etc…

Our medical resources are limited, and we need to do everything we can to prevent our medical systems from being overwhelmed. It is important, therefore to share this information about the potential treatment options for medical practitioners in the West to consider. 

If you would like further information or are considering taking one of the specific TCM formula, please first of all consult your doctor and local TCM Specialist or one of these online platforms.

[Switzerland platform]

https://www.covid19-medecine-chinoise.ch

[France platform]

https://www.covid19-france-medecinechinoise.fr

Hope this information reaches to those who might benefit from this type of additional complementary treatment.

Please take good care of your families and yourselves in these difficult times.

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