Traditional Treatment

　　Traditional Chinese Medicine slowly gains traction in South Africa

　　After the Easter holiday， 12-year-old Mamoekadi Mashabela and her parents drove some 30 km from Tembisa to Bruma on the eastern side of Johannesburg to see Dr. Susan Sun.

　　Mashabela had developed an irritating rash on her right shoulder. Her parents took her to see several doctors who had prescribed various medicines， but the skin irritation persisted. Two of her mother’s friends who had previously visited Sun suggested they try traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

　　Mashabela was diagnosed with too much “internal humidity” and was given three types of TCM patented medicine for a week-long treatment regime. Her parents want to try an alternative complementary medicine to see if their daughter can be cured.

　　Word of mouth

　　Mashabela is one of many who come to visit a TCM doctor on the recommendation of friends. Information about TCM clinics in the country is not commonly seen even on the Internet. Word of mouth from relatives and friends is one of the few channels from which the clinics are known.

　　Sun told ChinAfrica she never advertised， and her patients are now coming from all over South Africa and even from neighboring countries. Nearly all of them knew her through relatives and friends.

　　Located in Bruma， a neighborhood bordering Johannesburg’s Chinatown， Sun’s Chinese Traditional Medicine Clinic is housed inside a two-story building covering approximately 400 square meters.

　　Behind the iron-barred security door stands a different world. Chinese music and the herbal aroma of moxibustion immediately soothe and calm the senses. The waiting area leads to a diagnosing room and several well equipped treatment rooms. Sun does her consultations behind a traditional Chinese-styled ornate screen.

　　Sun is a director and the only doctor at the clinic. She has one nurse， two assistants and one receptionist， and sees between 10 and 20 patients a day. Sun and her husband， Demy Xu， a TCM doctor and General Secretary of the South Africa TCM Association， established the clinic in 1999. Like all TCM practitioners， Sun is a general physician who has specialized in recent years in treating gynecological diseases.

　　According to Xu， there are about 2，000 registered TCM doctors in Africa， mainly in Johannesburg. Among them， about 500 are South African Chinese. Of the 500， only about 100 are now operating a clinic， with many of these getting their medical education in China where they operated as TCM doctors before coming to South Africa.

　　Why TCM？

　　Like elsewhere in the world， TCM is becoming better known and gradually winning popularity in South Africa. As one of the oldest natural medicine systems dating back thousands of years， it is still widely practiced and continually developing both in China and internationally.

　　Dr. Kelly Kong May， doctor， nurse and the manager of the Chinese Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture Clinic in Johannesburg， told ChinAfrica that TCM looks at the individual as a whole body， treats the root causes of the health problem， and tries to help achieve the natural balance of the individual.

　　Kong May said TCM diagnosis is based on four examinations： observation， odor， questioning and pulse checking. Through strength， rhythm and quality of the pulse， an experienced TCM doctor can judge the balance between the yin and yang energies and the state of the disease. The tongue， through its shape， color and coating， indicates the nature， progress and severity of the illness. TCM doctors use mainly acupuncture， Chinese herbal medicine and acupressure massage treatments in their healing process.

　　Kong May mentioned that many people might not know much about TCM， but they try because of referrals from friends or because they are open-minded and willing to try a new approach to healing.

　　Though the number of patients turning to TCM for help is increasing steadily， TCM is not the first choice for many South Africans when they feel the need to see a doctor. Kong May stated that more often than not， patients will first go to see a Western doctor and turn to a TCM doctor if their ailments persist. But she believes that with the improvement of locals’ education and living standards， TCM will gain more popularity.

　　Xu said that South Africans have received TCM well. This is because many have the habit of using herbs and local people are sensitive to Chinese herbal medicine. Xu also mentioned that TCM doctors in South Africa find that they only need to use half or even one third of the dose of TCM medicine on local patients， compared to what they use on Chinese having a similar illness.

　　Some TCM doctors said that compared with Western medicine， the cost of Chinese medicine is reasonable. For instance， Sun’s consultation fee is 200 rand ($20) and the average cost for one week’s medication is about 500 rands ($50).

　　Future prospects

　　TCM clinics have been operating for more than 30 years in South Africa， but were not well-received until 2000 when it was officially approved by law， according to Xu.

　　He said that South Africa is one of the few nations that have made significant progress to integrate traditional and complementary medicine， including TCM into the legislative framework. South Africa is also the only country in the world outside China where TCM practitioners can be called “doctors，” he added.

　　Xu said that in Johannesburg， TCM and Western medicine doctors respect each other and there are often cross-referrals between the two.

　　But to date， TCM has not been included in South Africa’s medical aid schemes. This means that the medical aid will only cover consultation fee， acupuncture and other treatment costs， but not TCM medicine costs. Besides， import procedures of TCM medicine are still being ironed out， though more than 800 Chinese traditional patented medicines have been registered in South Africa.

　　Currently challenges facing TCM in South Africa include that there is no further training available in South Arica to help upgrade the overall level of the sector and some doctors battle due to language problems.

　　Xu is however optimistic that TCM has good future prospects in South Africa， and Africa as a whole.

　　Basic Concepts of TCM

　　TCM is more than 2，000 years old and looks at the individual as a whole system， treating the root causes of the health problem.

　　Qi/energyThe focus of TCM treatment is on correcting the disturbed pattern of the Qi or life force.Ancient Chinese believed everything in the universe results from the movements and changes of Qi. TCM believes that Qi flows through 14 main meridians or pathways forming a network within the body. When a person is healthy， the Qi moves smoothly through the meridians. If however， the flow is blocked or the flow is too weak or too strong， then illness occurs.

　　Yin and yangYin is the inner and negative principles， and yang， outer and positive. Yin and yang are the two fundamental principles or forces in the universe， opposing and supplementing each other. TCM says that the individual is healthy when yin and yang within the body are in balance.

　　Five elements： wood， fire， earth， metal and waterIn the human body the five elements are linked with the five organs： wood-liver， fire-heart， earth-spleen， metal-lung， and water-kidney.

　　DiagnosisThe TCM practitioners look for signs of Qi imbalance， through the four examinations： observation， odor， questioning and pulse-taking. They gather the information about the patient’s lifestyle， diet， medical history and emotional state. These examinations help form a picture of what is happening to the Qi of the patient and which organ system is primarily involved.

　　TreatmentThe three main treatment methods are acupuncture， moxibustion and herbal medicine. Acupuncture regulates the Qi flow， through the placement of needles， improves the blood circulation， balances the organ’s function， calms the mind and restores health. It is commonly known to be very effective for pain disorders and is also used for a wide range of internal problems. Moxibustion or cupping， uses glass cups which have the oxygen removed through fire to create a vacuum and then placed upside on the area needing healing， where it sucks up the skin. Drawing up the skin is believed to open up the skin’s pores， which helps stimulate the flow of blood， balances and realigns the flow of Qi. Herbs used include rhizomes， roots， leaves， seeds， fruits， root barks and flowers from natural herbal plants， prepared specifically for the patients’ health condition. TCM herbal medicine can be in form of powder-tea， capsules， tablets， liquid， ointments or plaster.

　　By Lu Anqi