BEIJING: As Covid-19 tears apart China’s vast population, sickening millions and fueling a shortage of medicine, many are turning to old-school traditional medicines to combat the aches and pains of the virus.
President Xi Jinping has promoted traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) since the start of the pandemic, while health officials hailed its “important role” in the fight against the coronavirus.
Encompassing a range of treatments from herbal remedies and massage to acupuncture and diets, TCM has been used for thousands of years to treat all sorts of ailments.
Critics say it is pseudoscientific and ineffective in treating actual disease, and there is little peer-reviewed data to support claims of its effectiveness.
But millions of people in China use it, often in conjunction with modern medicine to relieve symptoms.
Beijing consultant Yu Lei, 38, had a fever after catching Covid, so he made a herbal tea with reputed anti-inflammatory properties with cassia twigs – a type of Chinese cinnamon – peony roots, licorice, jujubes and ginger.
“In our family, we often use Chinese medicine,” he told AFP, adding that his fever had gone down after drinking the brew.
According to proponents like Yu, TCMs have fewer side effects and work more slowly to regulate the body, rather than Western drugs which “combat the symptoms but rarely the source of the disease”.
Beijing has urged local authorities to “actively and objectively publicize the role and effectiveness of TCM brews in treating Covid-19”.
However, Ben Cowling, chair of epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health, told AFP: “We don’t know whether these treatments are effective or not, because they don’t have not been clinically tested.
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that some of them are effective, but I also wouldn’t rule out the possibility that some of them might even be harmful.”
The World Health Organization only recommends Covid treatments based on chemical drugs. Contacted by AFP about traditional Chinese medicine, the body said it advised countries to “gather reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products”.
Western medicine remains the preferred mode of treatment in China, but TCM proponents say combining the two is effective in treating Covid-19.
Liu Qingquan, director of the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, says they “complement each other and can resolve fever, joint pain, fatigue, sore throat, cough and other symptoms.”
Experts have taken to television to praise TCM since the start of the pandemic, with one product in particular – Lianhua Qingwen – enjoying intense promotion by authorities.
Many users are convinced of its usefulness, with some studies suggesting that it can help relieve symptoms. Medicine capsules were distributed to all Hong Kong residents when a wave of Covid hit the city last year.
But some online reviewers in China say Lianhua Qingwen is no more effective than peaches in syrup – a staple comfort food for sore throats in China – and social media users have complained about receiving the TCM instead of ibuprofen or paracetamol.
Lan Jirui, a Chinese medicine doctor in Beijing, told AFP: “It’s the same logic as Western medicine.
“If the drug is bought with a doctor’s prescription, it will probably be effective. If it is bought randomly from the pharmacy, then maybe not.”
Throughout the pandemic, self-taught TCM doctors and practitioners have turned to the internet to share recipes and health protocols.
Li Wen, a 68-year-old retired acupuncturist, pricks himself with needles to combat his flu-like condition. He also bought two Chinese medicines, including a bamboo-based anti-fever.
“I supplement that with a nutritious diet of pears, turnips and ginger,” he told AFP.
“Chinese medicines can be helpful in fighting the virus, but cannot kill the virus,” he said.
“But I remain cautious about Western drugs. Their side effects should not be overlooked.”
Hoping to cure a cough and sore throat, Danni, a 39-year-old Beijinger, takes Pei Pa Koa, a syrup derived from plant extracts.
“It’s not because I can’t find Western medicine,” she told AFP, “but because it’s effective and soothing.”
“I also make myself a hot soup of pears and hot lemon water, to boost vitamin C and my immunity.”
Some people interviewed by AFP were not convinced.
“We young people know little about traditional medicine,” said Grace Hsia, a 30-year-old director. “We generally prefer western drugs because they have immediate results.”
Li Na, a 36-year-old Beijinger, said, “I took paracetamol for the fever and it worked very quickly.
“Chinese medicine is ineffective. People take more of it to reassure themselves that they are taking something.”
President Xi Jinping has promoted traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) since the start of the pandemic, while health officials hailed its “important role” in the fight against the coronavirus.
Encompassing a range of treatments from herbal remedies and massage to acupuncture and diets, TCM has been used for thousands of years to treat all sorts of ailments.
Critics say it is pseudoscientific and ineffective in treating actual disease, and there is little peer-reviewed data to support claims of its effectiveness.
But millions of people in China use it, often in conjunction with modern medicine to relieve symptoms.
Beijing consultant Yu Lei, 38, had a fever after catching Covid, so he made a herbal tea with reputed anti-inflammatory properties with cassia twigs – a type of Chinese cinnamon – peony roots, licorice, jujubes and ginger.
“In our family, we often use Chinese medicine,” he told AFP, adding that his fever had gone down after drinking the brew.
According to proponents like Yu, TCMs have fewer side effects and work more slowly to regulate the body, rather than Western drugs which “combat the symptoms but rarely the source of the disease”.
Beijing has urged local authorities to “actively and objectively publicize the role and effectiveness of TCM brews in treating Covid-19”.
However, Ben Cowling, chair of epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health, told AFP: “We don’t know whether these treatments are effective or not, because they don’t have not been clinically tested.
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that some of them are effective, but I also wouldn’t rule out the possibility that some of them might even be harmful.”
The World Health Organization only recommends Covid treatments based on chemical drugs. Contacted by AFP about traditional Chinese medicine, the body said it advised countries to “gather reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products”.
Western medicine remains the preferred mode of treatment in China, but TCM proponents say combining the two is effective in treating Covid-19.
Liu Qingquan, director of the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, says they “complement each other and can resolve fever, joint pain, fatigue, sore throat, cough and other symptoms.”
Experts have taken to television to praise TCM since the start of the pandemic, with one product in particular – Lianhua Qingwen – enjoying intense promotion by authorities.
Many users are convinced of its usefulness, with some studies suggesting that it can help relieve symptoms. Medicine capsules were distributed to all Hong Kong residents when a wave of Covid hit the city last year.
But some online reviewers in China say Lianhua Qingwen is no more effective than peaches in syrup – a staple comfort food for sore throats in China – and social media users have complained about receiving the TCM instead of ibuprofen or paracetamol.
Lan Jirui, a Chinese medicine doctor in Beijing, told AFP: “It’s the same logic as Western medicine.
“If the drug is bought with a doctor’s prescription, it will probably be effective. If it is bought randomly from the pharmacy, then maybe not.”
Throughout the pandemic, self-taught TCM doctors and practitioners have turned to the internet to share recipes and health protocols.
Li Wen, a 68-year-old retired acupuncturist, pricks himself with needles to combat his flu-like condition. He also bought two Chinese medicines, including a bamboo-based anti-fever.
“I supplement that with a nutritious diet of pears, turnips and ginger,” he told AFP.
“Chinese medicines can be helpful in fighting the virus, but cannot kill the virus,” he said.
“But I remain cautious about Western drugs. Their side effects should not be overlooked.”
Hoping to cure a cough and sore throat, Danni, a 39-year-old Beijinger, takes Pei Pa Koa, a syrup derived from plant extracts.
“It’s not because I can’t find Western medicine,” she told AFP, “but because it’s effective and soothing.”
“I also make myself a hot soup of pears and hot lemon water, to boost vitamin C and my immunity.”
Some people interviewed by AFP were not convinced.
“We young people know little about traditional medicine,” said Grace Hsia, a 30-year-old director. “We generally prefer western drugs because they have immediate results.”
Li Na, a 36-year-old Beijinger, said, “I took paracetamol for the fever and it worked very quickly.
“Chinese medicine is ineffective. People take more of it to reassure themselves that they are taking something.”
