Bell's palsy according to Chinese Medicine

In Chinese Medicine, bell's palsy is sometimes associated with Yang Deficiency with Cold-Damp, a so-called "patterns of disharmony". Chinese Medicine sees the body as a system, not a sum of isolated parts. A "pattern" is when the system's harmony is disrupted. It is not equivalent to the Western concept of "disease" because both concepts arise from totally different ways of seeing the human body.

To understand whether someone's bell's palsy might be caused by the pattern Yang Deficiency with Cold-Damp, one needs to look for signs and symptoms associated with the pattern beyond what one might typically experience from bell's palsy alone. Indeed if bell's palsy is caused by Yang Deficiency with Cold-Damp, patients also experience symptoms such as generalized body pain, aching bones and joints, cold extremities and no thirst. Similarly, patients with Yang Deficiency with Cold-Damp typically exhibit choppy (Se), deep (Chen), minute (Wei) or slow (Chi) pulses as well as a tongue with thin white coating.

We've listed below a more detailed description of Yang Deficiency with Cold-Damp so that you can have a better understanding of where bell's palsy might find its root according to Chinese Medicine.

Once identified, patterns are often treated using herbal formulas. Drinking herbal infusions is the most common remedy in Chinese Medicine, together with acupuncture. Here we detail below four formulas that can help treat Yang Deficiency with Cold-Damp.

Yang Deficiency with Cold-Damp, a "pattern of disharmony" associated with bell's palsy

The four herbal formulas that might help with bell's palsy