Bob Flaws

[Guest guest]

>Bob Flaws lives in Boulder, CO.

 

Thanks for the info. I believe Dr. Fratkin also lives in CO. He's the one

who did an excellent article on TCM and Leaky Gut Syndrome. It used to be

on the Internet, but I haven't been able to find it recently.

 

Victoria

 

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Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

[Guest guest]

Judy,

 

Bob Flaws lives in Boulder, CO.

 

Shane

[Guest guest]

Hi Victoria,

 

In case you are still looking, here are links to the Dr. Fratkin article:

 

http://www.gsdl.com/news/1999/19990227/index.html

 

http://www.gsdl.com/news/1999/19990227b/index.html

 

Best wishes,

 

John (a newbie here)

 

 

 

 

Chinese Traditional Medicine, " Judy Fitzgerald " <victoria_dragon@h...> wrote:

> >Bob Flaws lives in Boulder, CO.

>

> Thanks for the info. I believe Dr. Fratkin also lives in CO. He's the one

> who did an excellent article on TCM and Leaky Gut Syndrome. It used to be

> on the Internet, but I haven't been able to find it recently.

>

> Victoria

>

> ______________________

> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

[Guest guest]

> In case you are still looking, here are links to the Dr. Fratkin

article:

>

> http://www.gsdl.com/news/1999/19990227/index.html

>

> http://www.gsdl.com/news/1999/19990227b/index.html

 

Thanks. It's a great article.

 

Victoria

[Guest guest]

Dear Victoria Dragon,

 

I enjoyed reading the post on whooping cough. Does Bob Flaws give any

recommendations for children with fall allergies symptoms: coughing,

congestion, sneezing, watery eyes...?

 

Thanks, Danamarie

 

" TCM recognizes 3 main stages in whooping cough. The following

infomation on whooping cough is taken from Keeping Your Child

Healthy with by Bob Flaws, pp. 102-105. "

[Guest guest]

Chinese Traditional Medicine , " das4145 " <asenat45@h...> wrote:

> Dear Victoria Dragon,

>

> I enjoyed reading the post on whooping cough. Does Bob Flaws give

any

> recommendations for children with fall allergies symptoms: coughing,

> congestion, sneezing, watery eyes...?

 

Keeping Your Child Healthy with by Bob Flaws also has

a section on allergies (pp. 124-126.)

 

One thing that Flaws stresses throughout the book is the importance of

the Spleen. It's especially important when it comes to allergies and

upper respiratory complaints.

 

For those new to TCM, the TCM concept of the Spleen is not equivalent

to the anatomical spleen. Hence, the capital " S " when the TCM concept

is used.

 

One of the TCM roles of the Spleen is to extract Qi

(pronounced " chee " , roughly though inadequately translated as " energy "

from the food which " rottens and ripens " in the Stomach, carry this

Grain Qi to the Lungs where it mixes with Air Qi to become part of the

Qi of the body.

 

Young children's Spleens are weak and immature. They simply cannot

handle things that an adult or even a teenager can handle.

 

You didn't mention how old your child is. Two recommendations that

Flaws makes for babies is that they not be fed solid food until they

are old enough to grab food " off their parents' plates " . (p. 124) This

is around 5 months. He also recommends introducing one new food at a

time. This way, if there is a problem with the food, the parent can

avoid giving it to the child until the child is older and the

digestive system is more mature.

 

Sugar and sweets are a no-no because they weaken the Spleen and

trigger Dampness. Eventually the Dampness in the intestines becomes

Damp Heat, and as a result, undigested pieces of food can make it

across the intestinal barrier which then sets up allergic reactions to

certain foods.

 

So far we've discussed mostly food allergies. What about allergies to

things in the environment?

 

Spleen Deficiency also plays a major role in allergies to things in

the envrionment. Remember that one of the functions of the Spleen is

to extract Grain Qi from the " rottened and ripened " food in the

Stomach and carry it to the Lungs where it mixes with Air Qi to form

the Qi of the body. The Spleen plays a major role in the body having

enough Qi. All kinds of Qi. This inludes the Protective Qi that

circulates at the surface of the body and gives resistance to

pathogens in the environment. If the Spleen is too weak to do its job

of extracting and transporting Qi, it's not going to be able to supply

what the Lungs need for Protective Qi.

 

Flaws recommends a clear, bland diet for children. He says about

allergies, " And, in my experience, none of these problems can be

lastingly cured with acupuncture and/or Chinese herbal mediine alone

if the diet is not taken care of. " (p. 125.)

 

He further recommends that sugars and sweets " from all sources " be

minimized. This includes fruit juices. (p. 125) Solid fruits that

don't mold easily - like apples - are OK, but not those that mold

readily like peaches, strawberries, grapes, and most melons. (p. 125.)

 

Food should be cooked and warm so as to help digestion. Older children

may be able to tolerate some raw foods, but infants and toddlers can't.

 

Meals should be on time and regular. Meals should be peaceful, non-

rushed times.

 

Cupping over the navel can be helpful for allergies. But you'll need

a professional acupuncturist to show you how. Obviously one wouldn't

want to do this on an infant because it could cause a hernia .

Personally, I wouldn't use it on a toddler without professional advice.

 

Flaws summarizes with, " So if your hild suffers from upper

respiratory, food, or skin allergies or from any autoimmune disease,

my advie is to see a well-trained professional practitioner of Chinese

medicine and to adopt a clear, bland, spleen-strengthening, dampness

and phlegm-eliminating, yeast-free hypoallergenic diet. " (p. 126.)

Yeast free means no breads made with yeast or cheese.

 

The wind will trigger allergy-like symptoms as well as worsen existing

allergies so I recommend staying in-doors with an air-ionizer going

when it's windy outside and one is prone to allergic-like reactions

and allergies. Even when there is no wind but a person has allergies.

They can take things out of the air that the person is allergic to.

The air ionizers are better than the air filters because 1. they take

more things out of the air than the filters alone do, and 2. they

increase the concentration of negative ions in the air. BTW, the

Chinese concept of Wind includes not only the wind but changes in

barometric pressure and changes in ion-concentrations. If you use an

air ionizer, you'll want one with filters that use charcoal.

 

Since autumn tends to be a dry season (or drier than other seasons) in

many places, you might want to experiment with adding a little more

moisture to the air if members of the family are sneezing and coughing.