The Main Cause of Most Children’s Disease
Causes of disease in Children are similar to that in adults. They can be differentiated into internal and external factors, together with miscellaneous factors like diet and lifestyle. Internal causes refer to the seven emotions. External causes refer to the six environmental or climatic factors.
In children under six years of age, diet is the leading cause of the commonly encountered pediatric complaints with internal and/or external causes aggravating the ill effects of an improper diet. In Chinese Medicine, the spleen, inherently deficient, plays an important role in digestion. Factors that compound the deficiency of spleen are as follow:
- Overeating or overfilling in one sitting, causing an increase in production and accumulation of dampness and phlegm as a result of overburdened spleen.
- Ingesting foods that are either too hot or too cold in nature. Food items that are too hot will deplete yin, allowing a rise in liver yang or fire. Food items that are too cold in nature will deplete the middle Jiao fire.
- Ingesting food that are rich in flavors, especially sweets or fried and greasy food items.
Treatment and Recovery
The most commonly encountered pediatric disease are either upper respiratory complaints, such as cold, cough, asthma, and allergies, or digestive tract complaints such as diarrhea, stomachache, and vomiting. The first group of diseases is caused by phlegm accumulating in the lungs, while the latter has to do with weak digestion. However, according to TCM, phlegm is a byproduct of weak digestion. Thereby, one can conclude that the root cause of diseases in children is due to the immaturity of their Zang Fu organs, physiologically and functionally, with great emphasis on a faulty digestion.
Treatment for most children's diseases should pivot around regulating and strengthening digestion. This can be in the form of controlling the nature and intake of food, to coupling it with herbal medicine or tuina to bolster the body’s ability to combat presenting symptoms and prevent reoccurrence of symptoms by tackling the root through dissipation of dampness and limiting the production of phlegm.
One prominent advantage of the children’s body is that due to their purity and clean state of the body system, children are able to heal at a much faster rate, as long as immediate action is taken to combat the problem.
TCM advocates a holistic approach to ensuring a balance between yin-yang, and the Zang Fu organ system, apart from the various TCM treatment modalities available to treat and prevent symptoms, dietary and lifestyle habits play a fundamental role in ensuring the health of children.
Dr. Marla Anastasia Sulindro Dr. Teh Liam Joe
Dr. Marla and Dr. Joe offer TCM evaluation and treatments in our clinic. They have extensive experience in treating TCM and work closely with members for holistic solutions. Body & Soul offers a full range of TCM treatments. Click here to make an appointment.
