November 30 , 2023 
The current global COVID-19 pandemic has led to high levels of anxiety in the community; many people are looking to Chinese Herbal Medicine for its potential to boost immunity and manage symptoms, especially for fevers, sore throats and respiratory dysfunction. The question is, can Chinese Herbal Medicine treat the symptoms of COVID-19?(1)
The short answer is yes, but please don’t misinterpret that as meaning that “Chinese Medicine can cure this disease”. It simply means that, with the skilful application of Chinese Medicine, we can be pro-active, we have additional tools to fight the virus and to manage distressing flu-like symptoms. What we can say is that many herbs have been used for centuries to:
From the scientific point of view, the immunomodulatory properties of botanical medicinals are well-documented.(2) It is therefore valid to state that Chinese Herbal Medicine can boost the immune system. Various individual herbs used in Chinese Herbal Medicine have been shown to have immunomodulatory effects such as stimulatory effects on immune cells and cytokine production and inhibitory effects on inflammation and allergenic responses.(3) As just one example, the herb Astragalus (Huang Qi) has been shown to have “… antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, anticancer, hypolipidemic, antihyperglycemic, hepatoprotective, expectorant, and diuretic effects …” and “… was associated with a significant age-reversal effect in the immune system.”(4)
Chinese Herbal Medicine practitioners rarely if ever use an individual herb but rather, we use formulas consisting of multiple single herbs, usually in very specific proportions. These traditional formulas will often be modified to suit the specific presenting symptoms of any one patient.
Although COVID-19 is obviously a brand new disease, it is treading a well worn pathway. Chinese Medicine has had strategies for the treatment of exterior pathogenic invasion for at least two thousand years of well documented history. A COVID-19 infection is regarded as a Wind Heat invasion and a wide range of herbal formulas are available in response.
A Chinese Medicine practitioner will never claim to be able to heal a particular disease. Rather, the aim of Chinese Medicine is to restore, maintain and promote health and wellbeing. We work with the body to build vitality and resolve the signs and symptoms of disharmony. Naturally we all have to comply with government guidelines in response to the current pandemic and to seek medical assistance when necessary, but in addition there is a place for fighting a cough or a fever with Chinese Herbal Medicine.
References
Pain relief is the most common reason for seeking medical attention. For some people pain may be temporary and easy to tolerate, but for many others it can be severe or unrelenting or both. If you have a body, then you will be familiar with the experience of pain. The good news is that, although pain is inevitable, suffering is optional! …
Dry Needling or Acupuncture – What’s the Difference? You’ve all heard the old saying: if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and sounds like a duck … it’s a duck! Well I have to tell you that anyone doing dry needling uses acupuncture needles, just like an acupuncturist, and they insert the
Chinese Herbal Medicine uses a vast pharmacopeia of plant and mineral substances, classified according to flavour and temperature, to optimise the internal environment.
