TCM Enthusiasts Who Prescribe for Themselves or Their Relatives Should Proceed with Caution

At present, many Chinese-medicine enthusiasts are very enthusiastic about TCM; many like to make their own formulas to treat themselves or their relatives, which is a good thing. But we must also remind everyone that, while it is fine to use Chinese patent medicines or simple prescriptions to treat common colds, or to use some nourishing foods for diet therapy, treating serious disease, complex chronic disease, or cancer should never be done lightly.

TCM's diagnostic methods are all "observing the outward to infer the inward." It has no means of direct observation; it relies on a practitioner's experience. The ancients had no laboratory tests, so they could only infer disease from the outside. This method has its strengths and its weaknesses; the strengths are that it is humane and holistic, while the weaknesses are that the accuracy of judgment is uncertain.

For example, I have had some TCM enthusiasts come to see me with self-prescribed formulas, and when I pressed them further on why they used those medicines, they often could not say clearly. Most of them could only give a one-sided justification: "This patent medicine can treat that disease, so I took it." They cannot explain what their own body's constitution or condition is. I have also had patients with clear symptoms who, using a formula or a patent medicine on the basis of a single symptom, got no effect; after I switched their formula, it worked.

From these things I see that many TCM enthusiasts study TCM too superficially; many do not even know what their own body is like, and do not even know whether their own body is hot or cold, yet they boldly prescribe medicine. This is really not advisable.

TCM enthusiasts who can independently use a Chinese formula to treat illness must have a solid grasp of the five-element theory, eight-principle differentiation, and qi-blood-fluid differentiation, and must understand how herbs combine. Without these foundations, using Chinese formulas on one's own is equivalent to taking a knife one does not know how to wield and charging at the enemy ranks—a sword without a sheath.

Not knowing one's own body, one cannot use medicine; knowing one's own body but not knowing a formula, one also cannot use medicine; knowing a formula but not knowing the individual herbs, one still cannot use medicine. These three kinds of knowledge, in TCM, are systematic engineering; one must study systematically and understand the whole picture before daring to prescribe medicine on one's own. Otherwise one can only "treat a headache, treat a foot ache," like those quack doctors who chase a single symptom.

TCM enthusiasts usually have a strong interest in TCM and do not lack diligence. They spend a lot of time reading many ancient and modern medical books; it is just that their direction of study is not quite right. Many TCM enthusiasts like to read anecdotal case records, think reading a few case records lets them cure this and that, and then prescribe medicine on their own. This is really putting the cart before the horse.

Anecdotal case records are merely clues and examples; what is more important is the reasoning. Without reasoning, cases are just curiosities. But TCM enthusiasts who can discuss reasoning are quite rare; many talk only about experiences, not reasoning. This is no different from the "using one prescription for one disease" of those quacks. In fact, "using one prescription for one disease" is also not wrong, but it must be based on a correct differentiation of the pattern. Without correct pattern differentiation, even good prescriptions are useless.

Many TCM enthusiasts who prescribe medicine for their relatives have this problem: they just memorize "this prescription treats this disease," but cannot analyze why. If the condition of their relatives does not exactly match that prescription's indications, the medicine will not work. TCM has always emphasized that pattern differentiation comes first; only on the basis of pattern differentiation can one choose a formula. Without pattern differentiation, any formula chosen is basically blind.

So TCM enthusiasts really must be cautious when prescribing medicine for themselves or their relatives. Small ailments can be handled lightly, but serious, dangerous, or complex chronic disease is another matter entirely. We must avoid a "soup-to-boiling" complacency: when a serious disease appears, we must promptly see a doctor, and must not rely on ourselves alone.

Although TCM requires "observing the outward to infer the inward," this "inward" cannot be known intuitively; it must be judged through rigorous reasoning. Without rigorous reasoning, the result is "treating a headache, treating a foot ache."

TCM's theory is highly abstract; even seeing a lot of cases does not mean one can cure them. TCM is not a craft where practice alone makes perfect; rather, one must reason rigorously. Ancient and modern medical case records are all produced on a foundation of reasoning. Without reasoning, reading ten thousand case records is no use.

Therefore, TCM enthusiasts should study more carefully and not get carried away. If you want to prescribe medicine for yourself or your relatives, you must first make your own reasoning rigorous, and then confirm through real-world results whether your reasoning is correct. Correct reasoning, repeatedly verified in practice, gradually accumulates into medical skill.

Because Chinese medicine has always had the custom of family transmission, many TCM enthusiasts hope that their relatives will also study Chinese medicine, so that after they are gone, their own children and relatives can still treat illness. This wish is very beautiful, and it is a good thing. But we must also remind everyone that inheriting Chinese medicine is not about inheriting a few prescriptions; rather, it is about inheriting the way of thinking and reasoning.

Inheriting a few prescriptions is only "using one prescription for one disease"; inheriting the reasoning is inheriting the real skill.