A couple of days ago, an old friend, a distinguished professor at Princeton University, called me. He had heart surgery. He was given plenty of drugs to take. One of them was, as he called it, "rat poison." Its function was to dilute blood so it would not clog again. He did not like the idea that he might have to take it for the rest of his life. He was worried. Was there a way out? I hear more and more this from relatives and friends who have some drug they have to take indefinitely. Many people are worried about side effects from taking drugs for long periods of time. What are we going to do about long-term side effects of modern drugs?
Chinese medicine emphasizes prevention such as eating right and doing both internal and external exercises (qi gong). Acupuncture is known to be free of long-term side effects. Is there any more? It has been hypothesized that meridian system is made up of stable water clusters and that drinking water with stable water clusters can repairing meridians.
Let me report a case of one of my patients. A male in his 40s came to see me four years ago. He had a bicycle accident 18 years previously, which still caused him problems. He also had more serious problems in the past. He had cancer and radiation therapy. His thyroid was damaged from radiation treatment and needed hormone supplement. If he did not have this hormone supplement, he felt weak and had no energy to work. He didn't want to take the hormone supplement forever, but he had no choice. His recovery was slow. We can classify his recovery into three stages:
Fig. 1A and 1B
First stage - some improvement. On 5/12/05, he had a healing session with external qi. The infrared images were taken before and after the session. It was clear that there was some improvement on the neck and shoulder region. The maximum temperature in that region dropped slightly. Three month later his general health improved. Infrared images, as seen in Fig. 2, showed significant improvement. The maximum temperature in the neck and shoulder region dropped 0.83C from the healing session of external qi. He reported that he only needed to take half the dosage of thyroid hormone supplement as prescribed by the doctor.
Fig. 2A and 2B
Fig 1. Infrared images on 5/12/05. The maximum temperature on the left side of the neck and shoulder region is 36.18C, and that of the right side 36.48C, with a difference of maximum temperature between left-right side to be 0.3C. After healing with external qi, the maximum temperature on the left side of the neck and shoulder region is 35.88C, and that on the right side is 36.12C, with a left-right difference in maximum temperature becomes 0.24C.
Fig 2. Infrared images on 8/8/2005. The maximum temperature on the left side of the neck and shoulder region was 37.22C, and 38C on the right side, with a difference if maximum temperature of 0.78C. After healing with external qi, the maximum temperature on the left side of the neck and shoulder region was 36.3C, and 37.13C in the right side, with a difference in maximum temperature of 0.83C.
Fig. 3
Second stage - 2005 to 2008. The subject practiced qi gong, ate a healthy diet, and led a healthy lifestyle. His health entered into a relative stable state, as shown in Fig 3. The degree of healthiness may be measured by the asymmetry in the thermal pattern between the left and right sides of the neck, and shoulder region. It is measured by the difference in maximum temperatures of the left and right region. His maximum temperature difference was 0.7C.
Fig 3. Infrared images taken on 12/30/08. The maximum temperature on the left side of the neck and shoulder region was 35.2C, and 35.9C on the right side.
Fig. 4
Third stage - full recovery. The patient started to regularly drink meridian water at the end of 2008. There was more improvement in his thyroid. He did not need to take the hormone supplement. The maximum temperature difference of the left-right sides of his neck and shoulder region dropped to 0.4C, as shown in Fig 4. This difference dropped further to 0.1C, as shown in Fig 5. He felt that his thyroid had fully recovered from the radiation damage done many years ago. Even after he stopped taking thyroid hormone supplements, he kept on drinking the meridian water. He said he felt more and more energetic.
Fig. 5
Fig 4. Infrared images taken on 4/21/09. The maximum temperature on the left side of the neck and shoulder region is 32.7C, and 33.1C on the right side, with a maximum temperature difference of left-right to be 0.4C.
Fig 5. Infrared images taken on 6/25/09. The maximum temperature on the left side of the neck and shoulder region is 31.5C, and 31.6C on the right side, with a maximum temperature difference of left-right to be 0.1C.
It is clear that one case history says very little what this water can do for other people in the long run. We, therefore, would like to enlist the help of any interested medical practitioner to do this kind of experiment. We are happy to supply you with samples of the special water.
As modern medical standardization continues, the field of traditional Chinese medicine has the advantage of comprehensive personalization. For rare or complex cases, deeper consideration of constitution is invaluable. Proper constitutional assessment, especially with first-time clients, can guide desirable and predictable outcomes. This leads to a higher rate of return, and greater trust between you and your patient.
Though the creation of a financially sustainable, health-promoting model feels far away today, we are casting a vision for a full return on health, believing that this compels us to keep one foot firmly rooted in caring for the sick and the other foot firmly founded in maintaining health. Shifting from a fee-for-service model to value-based care using a phased approach is paramount.
Laser therapy has emerged as a powerful tool in the realm of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This new modality fits beautifully into the toolbox of the modern acupuncturist, as it can be used as a hybrid form of stimulation to acupuncture points, meridians, organs, nerves, and symptomatic areas in a new way that blends both moxa and energetic needle-like responses.
