OT - Ancient Healing: Traditional Chinese Medicine
Most Japanese senior citizens knew or learned during their childhood
in the school or from their parents or old folks that there were only
404 kinds of illnesses, and they were treated by traditional chinese
herbs from Etchu, Toyama Prefecture in Japan.
And yes, these traditional medicines are very effective.
I believe that herbs listed below seem to be competitive to modern
medicines available in your neighborhood drugstores.
As you know, most modern drugs are from traditional botanical herbs
or known animals. Of course, if you visit Chinese medical herb
stores, you will wonder or somewhat amazed when you see grotesque
appearance of dried sea horse, tortoise, feet of animals, etc.
However, they are also very effective for treatment of modern
diseases.
1. MORNING GLORY
Morning glory is known by everyone in the world - a very popular
flower that appears in the morning hours and closes toward evening.
Its seed is at right, black and baroque shape. The seed is used to
cure constipation. Crash or grind about 3 pieces of seed and drink
with water.
For sting or insect bites, use the green leaves of morning glory.
Mash or grind the leaves with your fingers, and paste it in the
infected area of the skin. It heals very fast.
For frostbite or chilblains, keep dried leaves for winter season.
Boil and make something like tea. Wash with the tea-like water for
frostbite-infected skin.
2. FIG
The fruit can be eaten as is for hemorrhoids treatment. Dried fig
fruits are also effective. You can get white-colored sap (plant
fluid) by breaking the branch of the tree. Apply the sap to the anal
area. You might feel itch for a while, but it will dry and heal.
3. LOBSTER
Lobster is anywhere in the world, and it is very effective for the
treatment of measles. You can either just eat it or cook with soup.
With the remaining hard shells, crash it and with about a liter of
boiling water until the amount of remaining water is one half. Drink
it, too. Measles will be healed without any complications.
4. PLUM
Plum is very popular in China, Korea and Japan. Nowadays, you can
find plum fruits anywhere in the world. Plum is known for thousands
of years in China for the treatment of gastroenteritis. In our house,
since the time of my great grandparents, we keep about 10 kilograms
of plum fruit with salt in a big jar for preservation purpose. We
have nearly 100 year-old plum, too. It was preserved by our great
grandparents. As you know me, I am now 70 years old. Wherever I
travel abroad, I carry a pack of plum preserved with me and take a
piece a day to avoid getting stomach troubles as well as avoiding
contamination of toxic matters and bacteria.
Plum is generally considered a miracle aid for almost all kinds of
diseases. Plum juice (preserved with salt for several months or
years) is used for treatment of fever and dysentery. Plum juice is
also applicable as an external use for tinea.
5. PERSIMMON
Truly, sweet persimmon fruit has a lot of medicinal properties. The
calyx of the persimmon fruit where it is connected to the branch of
the tree, can be used to make a calyx tea. You can dry it and keep it
and use it to make a tea. Drinking calyx tea is good for stopping
hiccup;hiccough, and is also good for bed-wetting. The fruit itself
has also the same effect. There are a lot of other uses as well. For
bee stick, paste a grinded astringent persimmon. It’s very effective
according to our ancestors.
6. CHARRED HAIR
For stypsis in stopping bleeding, e.g. hemorrhage including internal
hemorrhage, charred hair is used. For male, use female hair. For
female, use male hair. Especially, a case where the cause of internal
bleeding is unknown, charred hair is very effective according to old
folks. Drink about 3 grams or one teaspoon of charred hair with water.
7. CHESTNUT LEAVES
For lacquer poisoning and other skin allergies, use chestnut leaves.
Place the chestnut leaves to boiling water and use it to wash the
skin several times a day.
8. DANDELION
Dandelion has several medicinal uses. All parts of the plant, from
root to flower, are edible and can be eaten in various forms like
soup and salad. Its medicinal uses include treatment for gastric
ulcer or gastritis, inflammation of the stomach, gastric dilatation,
gastric catarrh, stomach cramps, constipation, and liver diseases.
9. PAIN PATCH
If you talk about plaster ointment or pain relief patch, there’s a
variety of brands that can be found. Whether it’s for stiff
shoulders, swelling, a Band-Aid®, or a nicotine patch for smokers,
there’s a lot of them.
But here’s a good one for stiff shoulders and neck and especially for
swelling and pain. Prepare any wheat flour or a baking powder and
vinegar, and mix them to make a paste. Place it to the surface of any
paper. Then, just patch it to your shoulders, neck or other swollen
parts of your body.
If you like to give it a menthol (methyl salicylate) effect, just add
some grinded ginger with the wheat flour and vinegar. During my
younger days, there were no medicated patches that you can buy in
drugstores. But this formula is more effective compare to any other
plasters you know, and it has been known thousands of years ago in
China. Try it.
10. EARTHWORM
Earthworm – you may find one in your backyard garden. Earthworm is
known for treating almost all kinds of high fever, influenza, and
malaria since thousands of years ago. It is also known to treat
asthma. Dry it under the shade with cool air. Boil it with water and
drink it. It is as simple as that.
Also, don’t you know that raw earthworm is good for running ears
(otorrhea), and tinea cruris and stiff neck and shoulders. Grind the
earthworm and paste it in the infected area.
I can remember now, when I was a small boy, on our backyard garden,
was a young woman digging soil for search of earthworm. For
curiosity’s sake, I asked her, "Mrs. Nagata, what are you going to do
with that earthworm?". She laughed and said, "It’s my breakfast". I
ran to my grandma and told about Mrs. Nagata’s breakfast, earthworm.
Grandma told me that it was used as a medicine for asthma of her
husband.
When I had a cook in the Philippines 20 years ago, I visited his
brother in the uncivilized remote area of the southern mountains for
vacation. There is no electricity and they live in a small house made
from coconut leaves. The young brother was suffering from asthma. I
told them about earthworm treatment, surprisingly though, they knew
about it already. He learned about the earthworm treatment from his
Chinese friend in a nearby town.
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