Watch out for the "Wind"

Often Vietnamese traditional medicine stands side-by-side in equal footing with western medicine. The ancient theories and methods rooted in Chinese medicine is part of daily Viet life. Of course the conspicuous and accepted presence of numerous traditional medicine schools shows the strength of eastern medicine. Even medical school teaches traditional medicine in harmony with western medicine.

A couple months ago at the Third National HIV conference, one of the main lectures involved current traditional medicine research that has shown auspicious improvements of CD4 counts in patients in HIV. My fellow colleagues at Pasteur Institute lauded the presentation and welcomed possible herbal medicine treatments in tandem with ARV. Moreover, a number of audience members at the conference had great hopes for a clearly laid out traditional medicine regimen that will someday lessen the symptoms of HIV/AIDS. Thus it is more likely than unlikely that Vietnamese physicians in the future will find methods to combat HIV/AIDS with prevention, care, ARVs, and herbs.

The energy known as “Qi” guides the foundation of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine. Furthermore, the flow and strength of Qi stems from the balance of internal forces which are explained in various fundamental concepts: Hot and Cold, Five Elements (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood), 12 Organs and 14 Meridians.

The concept of “hot” and “cold”, which is an extension of Yin and Yang, has been part of my vernacular since childhood. Hot and cold does not translate literally into body temperature, but rather counterbalanced vital physiological forces that maintains health. Excess hot manifests as fevers, redness, constipation, irritability, sleeplessness, canker sores, or discharge while excess cold exhibits itself as a sense of cold, diarrhea, pain, or cramps.

Many Vietnamese believe in the concept of "Catching (hitting) the wind." Extrinsic forces like prolong exposure to “wind” or consumption of unhealthy food can cause an imbalance of hot and cold which consequently leads to illness or death. Often heart attacks, strokes, and symptoms of HIV/AIDs can be interpreted as “hitting the wind.”

Traditional practices usually play the role of correcting this imbalance, but even western medicine can be employed to restore the balance. The following traditional methods can re-equilibrate hot and cold:

• Acupuncture. Needles placed on certain locations of the body to affect specific organs.
• Acupressure or Massage. Using the same concepts as acupuncture, this uses pressure and touch to affect organs.
• Cupping (Giac): Small glasses that are heated and placed on the skin (usually on the back), causing a forceful suction to pull out the bad forces. This leaves red marks at suction points that last for over a week.
• Coining (Cao gio). Coining is used to release this wind. Coins dipped in oil are forcefully rubbed against the skin leaving streaks of redness.
• Pinching (Bat gio). This method is pinching the skin to once again to pull out the “wind”, which again leaves red markings.
• Steaming (Xong). A boiled concoction of herbs to a steam to be inhaled and cover the body.
• Balm or heating oils: Oils like ever popular “Dau Xanh” (Green Oil) or balms that cause significant heating of the skin.

So my medical recommednations are:

• Do not live in the windy city of Chicago
• Don't put the entire bottle of Tabasco sauce into your chiplote burrito,
• Buy one of those long wooden hand scratchers to rub out that bad Qi.