Acupuncture in Newton Abbot

Michael Potter; MSc, BA(Hon), LicAc, DipCHM, MBAcC, MRCHM

Call 01626 572800 for an appointment

Email; info@bodyandsole.org.uk

Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM)

Chinese Herbal medicine (CHM) is one of the great herbal traditions of the world, with a recorded history of more than two thousand years. It has retained a strong presence in health provision in China today, where it is practiced alongside western medicine in state hospitals throughout the country, in the treatment of a wide range of conditions. The Chinese materia medica contains several hundred commonly used ingredients, including roots, stems, flowers, leaves and barks, together with some non-plant materials. This allows the practitioner to create prescriptions which match individual patients' patterns of disharmony, and which can be adapted to meet each patient's changing needs as treatment progresses.

In China people commonly receive acupuncture and take herbs in the long term. Once the constitutional pattern of disharmony has been diagnosed it is appropriate to continue treatment, even after symptoms have been relieved. This is done in order to rebuild an individual's health to its optimum capacity as well as maintaining a symptom-free state for the patient.

CHM may be administered in a variety of ways. Most commonly it is prescribed either in the form of concentrated powders, which dissolve in warm water, or as teas made up from raw herbs. Alternatively ready-made formulas in tablet form (patents) can be used. External preparations are also used, including creams, ointments and washes for skin conditions, and compresses for traumatized tissue.

The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM)

The RCHM, was set up in 1987 to regulate the practice of Chinese herbal medicine. RCHM members are subject to a Code of Practice, a Dispensary Code and a scheme for Continuing Professional Development, and are fully insured.

UPDATE

The Department of Health (DoH) and the Health Professions Council (HPC) are currently drafting legislation that will give qualified herbalists, members of the RCHM, protection of title and the legal right to call themselves Herbalists. It is anticipated that this will be before Parliament within the next two years.