The Application Of Pricking Blood Therapy In The Treatment Of WenBing

Pricking blood therapy, as a non- pharmaceutical therapy with a long history, belongs to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) external treatment. Since it is simple, convenient, inexpensive and efficacious, it has gained indispensable status in the history of TCM development and is widely used in medical field till nowadays.Triggered by warm pathogens, WenBing is an acute exogenous febrile disease featured by fever, grave thermal appearance, intending to turn to dryness and causing the impairment of yin. Its clinical manifestations include the acute onset of the disease, fever, dangerous symptoms and the impairment of yin. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, pricking blood therapy had played a significant role in the first aid and treatment of WenBing.In the current research of pricking blood therapy, types of diseases involved in applying pricking blood therapy to treat WenBing and Pestilence disease are rare, indicating that the scope of application of pricking blood therapy to treat contemporary WenBing and Pestilence disease has been considerably narrowed. The research area of WenBing treatment is dominated by principles of treatment and herbs, with little attention being paid to external treatment such as pricking blood therapy in clinical treatment of WenBing.After the initial literature review, the author finds that discussions on the application of pricking blood therapy to treat WenBing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties are scattered in experience summary by the practitioners at that time, lacking systematic research. Therefore, under the guidance and support of the supervisor, the author selects this topic as the theme of this thesis in the hope to fill the aforementioned blank.Through bibliography methodology (by reviewing the archive containing the comment of practitioners in the Ming and Qing Dynasties on the origins and mechanisms of WenBing), this thesis reviews the origins, development, mechanism and specific operations of pricking blood therapy. Based on systematic summary of the application of pricking blood therapy to WenBing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this thesis further explore the feasibility of applying pricking blood therapy to treat and prevent today's WenBing and Pestilence disease. The significance of this research is to provide the development of the application of pricking blood therapy to WenBing and Pestilence disease with theoretical and practical basis, so as to break the current limit in applying pricking blood therapy to treat WenBing.There are seven section of this thesis:1.Pricking blood therapy dates back to pulse methods, also referred to as "awaken pulse". It was widely use through out the world. The TCM theoretical basis of this therapy comes from meridian theory. Pricking blood therapy takes effect on WenBing through the purging fire detoxification, relieving the exterior, removing extravasated blood and dredging collatarals, the role of Su Jue antispasmodic. It is proved by modern research that this therapy can ameliorate microcirculation, enhance brain cell repair, and improve immune function and anti-inflammatory. There are special tools and operating practices for pricking blood therapy. However, there are also contraindications for this therapy, which needs special attention in clinical application.2.According to temperature disease pathogenesis, it is found that pricking blood can be used clinically during the four courses of WenBing:wei, qi,ying and blood. The specific transition among the four courses is complex. Since heat-toxin quickly invade ying and blood in acute WenBing and leads to spasm, it is especially important in treatment of ying and blood.3.The ample archive left by practitioners specialized in WenBing area covers the transition pattern of the disease, especially the disease mechanism of coma caused by the invasion of warm pathogens into pericardium and blood stasis incurred by the invasion of heat-toxin into ying and blood,.provides the theoretical basis for the application of this therapy in treating WenBing. Practitioners specialized in WenBing area are not only good at traditional herbs, but also good at external treatment such as pricking blood therapy.4.As a method of treating WenBing, pricking blood therapy is mainly applied in treating pestilence diseases such as cholera, plague and sha. Compared to medicine, this therapy can better relieve the symptoms, prevent the transition of the toxin and thus can be efficacious in first aid. Therefore, based on clear diagnosis, practitioners are prefer to use pricking blood therapy first. If the patient soon recovers from the symptoms, herbs can be used next; if the patient can not immediately recovers, this therapy can at least serve as the first aid so as to gain time for herb use. This is the reason why pricking blood therapy is indispensable in the history of TCM development.5. In contrast with Ming and Qing Dynasties, pricking blood therapy is less used in modern clinical treatment of WenBing. This is neither because of bloodletting tools or methods lagging behind than that during the Ming and Qing period, nor because the curative effect of pricking blood therapy descend than that during the Ming and qing dynasties.6. This paper also focuses on discussing two questions about pricking blood therapy in the treatment of WenBing that may occur. One is whether stabbing blood will cause impairment of yin or not, the other is about the relationship between pricking blood and infection.7. This thesis explores the application of pricking blood therapy to treat WenBing. The author deem that pricking blood therapy takes effect on WenBing through the purging fire detoxification, relieving the exterior, removing extravasated blood and dredging collatarals, the role of Su Jue antispasmodic.After a discussion on the above issues, the following conclusions are obtained:1. WenBing in modern disease includes the febrile disease of common infections and infectious disease.2. Pricking blood therapy can be used independently or in cooperateion with other therapies during each stage in the treatment of WenBing.3. Since pricking blood therapy is good at dealing with emergency,it can play a vital role in plague diseases emergency.4. In the modern treatment of infectious diseases, the involvement of Chinese medicine in the treatment of many infectious diseases has played a significant role. However, the Chinese Herbal Prescription always faces with the problems in whether dialectical decisionis is correct or not and whether it can take effect in a timely manner. So pricking blood therapy advantageous as it is simple easy to use with rapid onset in the treatment of some infectious disease first aid with good treatment effect, its role in disease prevention is also worth further exploration.This paper first summarized the pricking blood therapy usig in WenBing during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and discusses about the significance that pricking blood therapy treat the modern tepid of disease and the infectious diseases. It can also promote using pricking blood therapy on treating infectious diseases in modern clinic and can provide theoretical and practical experience basis.