Chinese Ophthalmology: Acupuncture, Herbal Therapy, Dietary Therapy, Tuina and Qigong

Description

By Agnes Fatrai & Stefan Uhrig
Hardcover book
ISBN 9783981547115

Treating eye diseases with Chinese Medicine

Chinese ophthalmology embraces many fascinating aspects which this book presents in detail.

Along with the foundations and principles of Chinese ophthalmology, possible treatment approaches from all fields of Chinese medicine are presented: acupuncture, herbal therapy, tuina, qigong and dietary therapy.

In all 26 eye diseases are described from Western and from the Chinese points of view, and Chinese treatment options are explained in detail. Finally, recommendations on the prevention of disorders in the eye are given according to the criteria of Chinese medicine.

Key features include:

• foundations of Chinese ophthalmology
• diagnosis and treatment of eye disease from points of view of Western and Chinese medicine
• differentiated Chinese therapeutic strategies
• discussions of prevention concepts
• extensive bibliography

For all practitioners and therapists interested in Chinese ophthalmology

From the Foreword:

Chinese medicine is increasingly gaining importance in the Western world: As a consequence, various medical specialties have begun to focus on Chinese Medicine, and ample basic and specialist literature has been published. However, ophthalmology is still a certain exception: On this subject, there are only few detailed works in Western Languages, in contrast to Chinese-language specialized literature. Thus our concern was to describe the foundations of Chinese ophthalmology and its therapeutic methods, based both on classical and on modern Chinese sources. In this respect, we would like to emphasise that we do not in any way call into question the value of our usual Western ophthalmology. Rather, the physiology, pathophysiology and treatment of eye disease are shown from perspective of a different medical system which has been built up over millennia and which is based on a very subtle observation of procedures of life and disease mechanisms.

In Germany, the book presented here has already been published in its second edition and has now been translated into English.

This book starts with an historical overview and proceeds to explain basic terms of Chinese medicine and Chinese ophthalmology. This is followed by descriptions of various therapeutic methods and descriptions of individual disease patterns. Introductorily, these are defined from the point of view of Western ophthalmology. At the end of the book, we have compiled recommendations on the prevention of eye disease from the point of view of Chinese medicine.

The book concludes with an extensive bibliography.

As already mention, our book is based on classical and modern texts of Chinese medical literature. We have partly adopted the accurate descriptions of the disease symptoms and coherences commonly used in this literature for reasons of authenticity, even if they sometimes may sound rather strange to the Western educated reader. In addition, we have considered the works of Professor Dr. Manfred Porkert, who has made a great contribution to the dissemination of Chinese medicine in the Western countries.

This book is intended both for therapists trained in Chinese medicine and for ophthalmologists who so far have only practiced Western medicine but are interested in Chinese medicine. Furthermore, interested laypersons get a possibility to refer to this book.

When treating eye diseases, of course the therapist has to decide whether or not and to what extent Chinese medicine is applied additionally or alternatively. It is expressly stated that in cases of an eye disease as a matter of principle a Western ophthalmological clarification and if necessary, a Western treatment are essential.

For using the treatment methods described a fundamental knowledge of Chinese medicine is essential. Please observe the regulations in your country, especially those regarding the usage of Chinese herbs. For example, in Germany due to possible contamination with aristolochic acid presently Asari radix (Xixin) and Moutan cortex (Mudanpi) may not be used.