The listening, smelling and questioning methods used in diagnosis in Chinese medicine are part of the diagnosis procedure made by the practitioner of Chinese medicine, the other two are known as palpitating and observation. They are a set of four methods which the practitioner will use in order to make the correct diagnosis and then begin treatment.

Listening and smelling

The voice and breathing pattern of the patient play a crucial role in the correct diagnosis of an illness; a very loud and assertive voice will suggest to the practitioner that there is a very strong yang presence, while a very weak voice will suggest the opposite, a yin presence. Very restless or particularly heavy breathing may be the sign of a deficient condition and even the persons cough can indicate where the problem might lie, coughs can be loud, persistent, dry or hacking and this all gives an indication of the condition of the lungs and the amount of phlegm if any that is present in them.

The palpitating method is one of four methods which the practitioner of Chinese medicine will use in order to determine a correct diagnosis, the other three are observation, smelling and listening and questioning. Palpitation or touching is performed by feeling or tapping local areas of the patient’s body in order to determine the following:

• Any areas that are painful.
• The temperature of the skin.
• Any swollen areas.
• Perspiration.
• Colour of the skin.

Traditional Chinese medicine relies heavily on opposites such as yin and yang, yin and yang are found in everything, examples of this are earth and heaven, winter and summer and happiness and sadness. The Practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine firmly believes that every one of us has what is called a life force or body of energy which is called “Qi”.

Our Qi can become affected by our daily lives and when there is a disruption to this vital energy then illness and problems occur. The ultimate goal to Chinese medicine is to achieve total harmony and balance within the body and mind and this is achieved by balancing the Qi.

Practitioners and followers of Chinese medicine believe that the human body is like a mini eco system in that it shares the same qualities as nature and if left to its own devices and treated with respect it is able to repair damage done from within. The earth contains land, water and air and so do our bodies in the form of body fluids, blood, essence and Qi.

These are said by the Chinese to be the vital substances within our body and are what let our body heal itself and maintain health when kept in alignment, the Qi is the body’s energy and this must be allowed to run freely throughout the body without blockage.

The five elements of Chinese medicine represent elements that are fundamental to the cycles of nature and as such, they correspond to elements in the human body. The Chinese meaning of Xing is the process on one thing having an affect on another, in relation to the five elements and the process cycle an example of this is:

• Wood feeds the fire.
• The fire then creates ashes which form the earth.
• In the earth metal when heated liquefies and produces water vapour.
• The water then nourishes the trees or wood.