Today a tour was arranged for our group of a Traditional Chinese Medicine
Hospital. On the first floor of the drab building was
the pharmacy. We were allowed to walk
through the back room where dried herbs were contained in jars and open
bags. I watched as the pharmacists took
a scoop of this and a pinch of that to fill the prescriptions.
Each patient received a packet with the
different herbs and leaves and were instructed to boil the packet and drink the
concoction. It was surprising to me that
we were allowed to walk behind the counter to peer into the open containers of
medicine. Another room contained a kitchen where the prescriptions were being
boiled in clay pots over coal fires. The
method did not seem very scientific as all of the concoctions were on for
varying times at different temperatures.
Our tour continued up a set of dirty cement stairs. I knew we were passing the bathroom from the
stench that filled the hallway of doctor’s rooms. Our teacher had arranged for us to see a
Traditional Chinese Doctor if so desired.
I watched as a smoking doctor examined one of the World Racers. He checked out his hands, asked what his
symptoms were, then wrote a prescription.
Throughout the exam several local people walked into the exam room to
watch; which apparently is quite common.
I sat in the hallway to wait for the World Racer’s to
complete their exams. The environment
felt more like a bingo hall than a hospital; cigarette smoke and the smell of
the bathroom permeated the air.
We went up one more floor to see a room filled with people
receiving massages. This looked inviting
until I saw a man getting his leg yanked by a masseuse. I do like that massage is so accessible and
inexpensive in this country. Further
down the hallway we arrived at a room; the teachers paused so I stopped to look
in. My scalp tingled and my stomach turned
to see a 3 year old boy sitting in his mothers lap with dozens of acupuncture
needles sticking out of his head.
Apparently he has not yet learned to walk so the acupuncture was to
enable him to walk. We continued along
to see more people receiving acupuncture.
I had to stop at the sight of the first patient. We were invited to experience Traditional
Chinese Medicine through acupuncture or massage, but after seeing it up close I
had no desire to do so.
As we left the tour we talked about the depressing and
seemingly unsanitary conditions of the hospital. I can not imagine having to put my hope in
Traditional Medicine for wellness. There
are contemporary advanced hospitals in addition to the Traditional hospitals,
but many people choose tradition over scientific medicine.
Reflecting on our visit I thought about how much trust I put
into studies and reports on the medicine and methods I use to stay
healthy. Many times this week we have
been told by the Chinese that a certain tea is good for healthy hair, or a
fruit is good for the mind, or a vegetable is good for skin. Most of the time I
chuckle to myself and I think, “How naïve they are to believe what they have
been told.” Meanwhile I stick to my
beliefs that come from what I have been told.
How quickly I judged them when fall into the same pattern of believing
what I have been told rather than seeking my own answers.
