惊蛰

我向杨玉辉博士致以最崇高的敬意。他是真正懂得中医那么透彻的少数人之一。

lzzx

远不如题目那么乐观，文中提到的局限，解决起来极复杂。
哲学只能给一个判断，不能解决操作级的问题。形势随时可能有变化。
如果没有工程化的实施计划出来，一切归空。
不过毕竟给了一个信心，可惜不是保票。

桂枝汤

我期望:每一位版主和关心中医药的会员,能理会这篇文章的精神实质,切不可断章取义.
对于中医,我的信仰诚如我的签名:继承不泥古,创新不离宗.是否,将留给众人评论,留给历史证实.

牛道士

感谢总斑竹，我又认识了一个牛人----杨玉辉。

杏林箫客

    由于认识方法的不同，中医对生命本质的把握更为透彻。      

桂枝汤

西方人求助于补养及替代药物
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● 蓝秉湖By Lam Pin Foo
　　西方人轻视补养及替代药物（传统中药是其中重要部分），认为那同源自西方及讲求真凭实据的现代医学比较，是不科学的治疗方法；但这种态度已经有了改变。
　　从80年代开始，越来越多人接受了补养及替代药物。补养及替代药物可被简单地定义为，西医不普遍教导，医院一般不提供的治疗方式。
　　补养及替代药物的种类繁多，包括草药、心灵治疗法、按摩疗法、跌打推拿、针灸、松弛疗法如瑜珈和冥想等。
　　人们现在一般上同意，现代医学在治疗需要动手术的急性病症方面特别有效，补养及替代药物的优点则在于处理慢性和持久的症状。
　　西方人因为西医不能够药到病除，最终到东方求医的例子比比皆是。许多人通过针灸、草药或者按摩消除了病痛。
　　是什么因素致使补养及替代药物在西方迅速流行开来，而一些人更以自己的亲身经历来证实它们对某些疾病的疗效呢？
　　现代医学诊断和治疗的高昂费用，加上有时需要长期等待，使越来越多西方人对它感到失望。另外，长期服用西药或打针，往往会有副作用，可能会严重伤害身体。
　　相比之下，补养及替代药物无疑比较廉宜。如果治疗师学有专长，一般也较少或不会有副作用。它们强调接近大自然，接受治疗者在疗程中也比较有自主权。
　　补养及替代药物讲究全面治疗和预防疾病，以强身健体为健康的必备基础。
　　人们对于这类药物和治疗方式的最大疑虑，在于许多治疗师都是自学而成，不具备受公认的医学院的专业资格。也就是说，人们有时很难判断哪些是可以信任的治疗师，这个行业的形象也很容易被害群之马破坏。
　　这类药物和治疗法所取得的进展，可从西方一些权威性的调查清楚看出。根据美国的一项调查，美国人在1997年求助于补养及替代药物提供者的次数是6亿2900万，向一般家庭医生求助的次数却只有3亿8600万次。
　　新加坡到目前为止并没有这类的调查，不过，我们知道有不少新加坡人使用补养及替代药物，因此有必要进行类似的调查。
　　当然，在西方或其他地方，补养及替代药物都不可能取代西医，成为主要的医疗方式。不过，它在现代医疗服务却可以发挥一定的作用。西医和补养及替代药物业者探讨专业交流的共同基础，也符合公众的利益。
　　综观目前的趋势，医学界将来的发展，明显地会看到来自东西方的医疗服务业者，共同合作并取长补短，为病人提供最佳的医疗服务。
·作者是一名退休律师。叶琦保译。

Westerners turn to complementary and alternative medicine

　　Not so long ago Westerners were contemptuous of Complementary and Alternative Medicine(CAM), of which traditional Chinese medicine is an important component, and regarded it as an unscientific form of treatment compared with evidence-based modern medicine, which emanated from the West.
　　This is no longer true. It has been fast gaining acceptance in the West since the 1980s. CAM can be simply defined as medical practices or interventions that are neither taught widely at Western medical schools nor generally available at Western hospitals.
　　It covers a diverse field including herbal medicine, spiritual healing, chiropractic, osteopathy, acupuncture, relaxation therapy like yoga and meditation and massage , to name a few.
　　The informed consensus is that modern medicine is especially effective in treating acute illnesses requiring surgery, while CAM scores in providing cures to some chronic conditions.
　　Numerous Westerners nowadays travel to the East seeking last resort cures, after modern medicine had failed to remove their sufferings. Many found the answer in acupuncture, herbal treatment or massage, among others.
　　What has led to the upsurge of CAM in the West as an alternative health care for certain illnesses, and why do its fervent adherents swear by it?
　　Increasingly, Westerners have become disenchanted with modern medicine because of its high costs of investigations and treatment, and sometimes long delays. Furthermore, the taking of prescribed drugs or injections often carry varying side effects, some could be seriously harmful over time.
　　On the other hand, CAM is certainly far less expensive and presents little or no harmful side effects in the hands of responsible practitioners. It has more affinities with nature and patients have control over the treatment.
　　By emphasising holistic treatment and prevention of illnesses, it aims at building up a firm physical foundation as a prerequisite to good health.
　　Be that as it may, a compelling complaint against CAM is that, to a significant extent, a large number of its practitioners are self-taught and therefore do not possess professional qualifications from reputable medical institutions.
　　This often makes it difficult for the public to distinguish the “black sheep” from the credible ones and, consequently, would allow quacks to damage the image of the profession.
　　The inroads made by CAM at the expense of modern medicine are clearly discernible from authoritative Western surveys. For example, a US survey reveals that, in 1997, Americans made 629 million visits to the CAM providers, as against 386 million visits to the primary care physicians.
　　I understand that no such survey has been undertaken in Singapore. Its time that one was done. The users of CAM are known to be high here.
　　It is unlikely that CAM will replace modern medicine as the dominant vehicle of health care for the Western public and elsewhere.
　　But it does have a role in modern health care, and it is in the public interest for both the modern medicine and CAM practitioners to find a common ground for ongoing professional dialogues so that knowledge in their respective fields can be usefully exchanged.
　　From the above trends, it does not take a genius to predict that the future of world medicine lies in health care givers, both East and West, working together and to incorporate the best elements that the other system can offer into their own health services so as to provide the best possible medical care for their patients.

·The writer is a retired lawyer.

三七生

[这个贴子最后由三七生在 2004/01/03 04:30pm 第 1 次编辑]


     东方科学近水木，西方科学近火金，水木固土，火金散土。而万物皆生于土，故西方之学近死路，东方之学近生路。目前西方科学所塑造的工业文明已将人类引入了垂死的境地，若无东方的智慧将其导入生门，则人类之寿命将终矣！
     对此不妨拭目以待之。

牛道士

请教东方科学近水木，西方科学近火金的道理。

三七生

     请从工农业的角度理解。现在是明显的金克木，木如果被克死，金最后也就没有立足之地，这就叫严重失去平衡。