While there still have been no clear signs to see the end of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), some people are turning to traditional Chinese medical science to protect themselves in the fight against the disease. Professor Tin-Chee Wong, founder of Herbalgy Pharmaceutical Ltd., registered Chinese medicine practitioner and founder of CMCCL, leads that trend in Hong Kong, urging the public to pay attention to signals from their bodies and take precautionary actions whenever necessary to stay healthy under the ongoing pandemic.
To care about the body before it falls sick and take preventive measures is a key and ancient idea in traditional Chinese medical science. “Literally, we call the concept ‘to cure prior to sickness’ and so it’s preventive in nature, after all. In general, good living habits should be observed where people should go to bed and get up early, maintain a good and healthy diet, exercise regularly, stay cheerful mentally and pay attention to personal hygiene. On the diet, they should eat less deep-fried food and cold drinks. Of course, there should be no smoking or alcohol,” said Professor Wong.
In the human body, there are mucous membranes in the mouth, nose and ears and Professor Wong sees them both as the first line of defense and important health indicators of the body. It is believed in Chinese medicine that the mouth, nose and ears are closely connected to key organs inside the body and if something goes wrong, it could imply more serious problems in the organs or even the entire circulation system.
When unwanted signals such as feeling dry or having a taste of bitterness start to show up at the mouth, for instance, it means that the quality of the body’s health has deteriorated and so some serious attention is required. The worst a person can do is to simply ignore such warning signals arising from the mucous membranes in the mouth, nose and ears. For the mouth and nose, an effective quick fix is to rinse them with salt water as it kills bacteria. “The mouth, nose and ears are exposed so it’s quite unavoidable for them to have bacteria. So far as the bacteria do not get into the blood, a person should be able to stay healthy. In addition to rinsing with salt water, people can also massage the nose as it can stimulate blood circulation that keeps the nose mucous membrane moist,” advised Professor Wong.
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