Principles of Disease Prevention in Accordance with Traditional Chinese Medicine

Abstract

Traditional Chinese Medicine is reputed to have a long history of more than 5,000 years, not only for the renowned acupuncture and fumigating and herbal medicine to treat disease but also for the prevention of disease principles. Known for the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine, prevention of disease principles is the treatment of diseases when it is not yet a disease (Preventive treatment) （治未病） to maintain physical health by applying ideas from the Yin-Yang Theory and the Five Elements Theory that lead to health promotion practices and methods according to the traditional Chinese medicine in various forms such as eating as a medicine, body movements based on qigong and tai chi, kidney health care, etc., This includes the principles of behavior when physiological and pathological changes occur in the body to prevent diseases that have already developed or spread to vital internal organs which can be life threatening through the use of the Theory of Five Elements to predict disease in advance along with prescribing measures to stop and prevent the occurrence of such diseases in a timely manner. In addition, there are 4 types of diagnosis according to traditional Chinese medicine: looking（望）, listening and smelling（闻）, history taking（问）, and touching（切）to analyze and separate the symptoms, prescribe treatments, preventive methods, and precise measures to take care of one’s health. The principles of disease prevention are basic foundations that lead to good health and wellbeing at present and in the future.