Guest guest Posted November 18, 2002 Report Share Posted November 18, 2002 wrote: > A physician who used to teach at PCOM once asked a class of thirty > students a few years ago what Chinese medicine meant by 'toxin'. Not > one student could answer! An embarassment. While the situation has > improved greatly (at PCOM), I wonder how many practitioners out there > could explain the Chinese concept of du/toxin to a physician. Z'ev, I'm actually glad you brought this up as I've been thinking about how to ask this list for more information on this very topic. I'm am somewhat confused about the terms " toxin " or " toxic " . For the longest time, I decided that a toxin must create pus, that's how we can differentiate from fire or damp heat or whatever. But in Yeung's herb book, there are actually quite a few herbs that address toxins that aren't necessarily pus producing. In fact, the categories of herbs that clear toxic heat are numerous and as follows: Under the category of herbs that clear pathogenic heat and toxin, we have four subcategories: 1) Herbs for febrile diseases: i.e. Jin Yin Hua, Lian Qiao 2) Herbs for sores, boils, carbuncles, or abscesses: i.e. Pu Gong Ying, Zi Hua Di Ding 3) Herbs for inflammation of the throat: i.e. Shan Dou Gen, She Gan 4) Herbs for dysentary or diarrhea: i.e. Bai Tou Weng, Qin Pi 5) Herbs for eliminating herat in the eyes: i.e. Jeu Ming Zi, Xia Ku Cao Like I say, I've always been focusing on the production of pus in a definition of toxin but I'm not sure all of these above conditions really do that. Any insights as to what a toxin is? -- Al Stone L.Ac. <AlStone http://www.BeyondWellBeing.com Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2002 Report Share Posted November 18, 2002 Al, > > Any insights as to what a toxin is? > The Han Yu Da Zi Dian says that the character originally meant " poison grass " and that it referred to poison grass that grew thick and abundantly and represented a great potential harm to people. This metaphoric notion of a virulent and potentially dangerous influence carries over into the medical term. Anything poison. On page 25 of the new Introduction to English Terminology book I found: " 1. Any substance that is harmful to the body when eaten or when entering the body through a wound or through the skin, such as lacquer toxin or pitch toxin. The toxin of animals is called venom. 2. Any virulent evil qi4, e.g., toxic qi4, which denotes scourge epidemic qi4; occasionally, a disease caused by this, e.g., seasonal toxin. " Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2002 Report Share Posted November 18, 2002 , Al Stone <alstone@b...> wrote: > 1) Herbs for febrile diseases: i.e. Jin Yin Hua, Lian Qiao > > 2) Herbs for sores, boils, carbuncles, or abscesses: i.e. Pu Gong Ying, > Zi Hua Di Ding > > 3) Herbs for inflammation of the throat: i.e. Shan Dou Gen, She Gan > > 4) Herbs for dysentary or diarrhea: i.e. Bai Tou Weng, Qin Pi > > 5) Herbs for eliminating herat in the eyes: i.e. Jeu Ming Zi, Xia Ku Cao > > Like I say, I've always been focusing on the production of pus in a > definition of toxin but I'm not sure all of these above conditions > really do that. > > Any insights as to what a toxin is? Al I have also thought often about this term and also find myself returning as I always do, to matters of practical clinical concern. It appears to have been used in various ways and pus does not seem to be essential. I think it has more to do with severity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2002 Report Share Posted November 19, 2002 wrote: > I have also thought often about this term and also find myself returning as I > always do, to matters of practical clinical concern. It appears to have been > used in various ways and pus does not seem to be essential. I think it has > more to do with severity. Dr. Gu used the word " toxin " in reference to skin diseases. Terms such as " damp-heat-toxin " came up frequently. I asked him exactly what he meant by " toxin " and he responded with a word that escapes me at the moment, however the meaning remains. It meant stubborn and chronic. -- Al Stone L.Ac. <AlStone http://www.BeyondWellBeing.com Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2002 Report Share Posted November 19, 2002 , Al Stone <alstone@b...> wrote: I asked him exactly what he > meant by " toxin " and he responded with a word that escapes me at the > moment, however the meaning remains. It meant stubborn and chronic. I have heard that as well, but it also can be acute and life threatening like a poisonous insect bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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