外國人眼裏的中醫利與弊
Have you had any experience with traditional Chinese medicine? Do you think it is effective? Some people share their opinions of TCM – and also some experiences. Please feel free to join in!
你看過中醫嗎？你覺得效果如何？下面是來自世界各地的一些人對於中醫的看法，你的看法是什麼？Motika
Motika（瑞典人）Nothing wrong with TCM, East Europe still has herbal pharmacies in use. That is recommended first - then “chemicals” (Western medicine) as a last resort.
我覺得中醫挺好的。東歐人也喜歡中草藥，一般生了病都是先考慮能不能吃中草藥，不行的話在吃西藥。
Laowai
Laowai （英國人）My wife is a TCM practitioner so that is always the first port of call. However, she does accept that in some cases Western medicine is more effective. Whether you choose Chinese or Western medicine - it can be difficult to know if either was successful as the problem might have cleared up without any connection to the treatment. There is also the placebo effect to consider.
我老婆就是一名中醫，所以生了病肯定首選中藥。但她也承認在一些情況下還是西藥比較有效。不過無論你選擇中醫還是西醫，都很難說哪種更有效，因爲很多症狀就算你不管它它也會好，況且吃藥本身也有安慰作用。
Seneca
Seneca（美國人）Chinese medicine regards the human body as a system that needs constant fine-tuning and medico-chemical measures, so as to avoid contracting diseases, whereas Western medicine treats the human body after the illness or disease starts manifesting itself. As I see it, Chinese people are more likely to take Chinese traditional medicine, herbal teas and observe "cold" or "hot" warnings for food than Westerners. Westerners drink icy-cold drinks in hot weather too often, and this can lead to conditions such as a hoarse voice, inflamed throat, colds, upset stomach, diarrhea.
中醫把人體看成一個系統，而且需要不斷調理，避免生病。而西醫則注重得病以後該怎樣治療。據我觀察，中國人似乎更喜歡中醫，更喜歡花草茶，更重視食物的是涼是熱。西方人在天氣熱的時候特別喜歡喝冷飲，像這樣毫無節制地喝冷飲對聲帶不好，容易導致嗓子發炎、感冒、胃病還有腹瀉。
seanboyce
seanboyce （英國人）I have read a lot of studies about the ineffectiveness of many Chinese treatments. The few miracle cases can be put down to statistical anomalies or placebo effect which has been proven to be better than quack medicine in some cases. Chinese medicine really does fail when it comes under the scrutiny of scientific method... Maybe it does work, but I personally don't believe in it.
我看過很多關於中醫療效甚微的研究報告。中醫裏那些爲數不多的成功案例可以歸結爲數據異常或者安慰劑效應。現在已經有研究表明，服用安慰劑在一些情況下比服用不那麼對症的藥的效果都要好。現在的科學研究已經證明中藥的作用微乎其微了……當然也許是有效的，但我個人不信中醫。SDIvester
SDIvester （美國人）TCM is difficult but not impossible to find in the US. However, if you go to your local GNC, many supplements on sale contain Chinese herbs or medicine. Many Western medicines are derived from plant-based materials, so TCM does have its place in society.
中藥在美國並不多見但還是有的。如果你去當地的保健品商店，你會看見貨架上擺着許多中藥。況且很多西藥其實也是從草本植物裏提煉出來的，所以說中藥還是有市場的。
Aziz
Aziz（孟加拉人）I have had great experiences with Chinese herbal medicine - and acupuncture. My baby daughter was cured by a herbal liquid made by the hospital for a cough - which was about to turn into bronchitis. A US-educated doctor failed to help her with a Western type of injection and medicine. Then the doctor suggested local traditional medicine and - after the sixth day of TCM treatment - all the symptoms had disappeared. But it must be said that anybody would vomit when tasting the liquid - and we had to give to on 8 month-old girl. There are many kinds of herbs - but make sure you are taking advice from a proper doctor, and it is better to collect the medicine from the hospital, as there are lots of fake medicines nowadays.
我對中草藥和鍼灸印象相當好。我的小女兒有一次咳嗽得厲害，都快變成支氣管炎了，後來喝中藥治好了。一個從美國留學回來的大夫用西醫的療法給她治病，一點用也沒有。後來他建議我們去看中醫，結果治了6天病就好了。但是那藥真是難喝啊，誰要是喝一口非得吐了不可，而我們卻得讓8個月大的女兒喝這個。中草藥有很多種，你一定要去看一位靠譜的大夫，而且最好在醫院抓藥，因爲現在市面上的假藥太多了。GhostBuster
GhostBuster （美國人）Traditional Chinese Medicine needs a more scientific approach. No kind of medicine is a cure for everything. If we could find a way to combine all knowledge of both Eastern and Western medicine – then we could perhaps find a way to cure all diseases. The major difference between Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine is that the former treats an illness or sickness as a component of the entire body’s system, while the latter treats it as a single isolated component. Each condition or disease is best treated by one of these types of medicine. In other words, no single medicine is superior to the other.
中醫需要更科學的治療方法。無論是中醫還是西醫，誰都不能包治百病。如果我們能夠將中西方的智慧結合在一起，說不定就能把所有的病都治好了呢。中西醫最大的不同是，中醫在治病的時候着眼於全身，而西醫則專注於局部。不同疾病最佳的治療方式不同，換句話說，無論是中醫還是西醫，沒有誰比誰好這麼一說。Foreignchinese
Foreignchinese（馬來西亞人）Chinese med takes effect at a much slower pace. Unlike Western med, Chinese med needs time to cure a condition. However, you should be careful about using TCM as it is known to contain high levels of mercury.
中醫見效慢，療程長。而且據說中藥裏的汞含量比較高，喝中藥還是謹慎爲好。
