In what ways does Chinese herbal medicine differ from Western folk herbalism?
Western folk herbalism primarily treats diseases or symptoms by using individual herbs or, occasionally, a combination of a few herbs. Chinese herbal medicine, when practiced as part of TCM, used combination of many herbs (usually six to eighteen depending on each patient and diagnosis), and is based on an individualized pattern diagnosis as well as a disease diagnosis. Your pattern is made up of your signs and symptoms, your emotional temperament and the overall composition of your body. To put in a simpler way, two patients with same symptoms of migraines may be diagnosed and prescribed totally different herbal formulas, rather than both being treated by the same single herbs in the Western folk herbalism method.
