Ask the Expert Series

十全大补汤 in itself is safe and a commonly drank soup. The problem regarding its usage only comes about when used on people with unsuitable body condition. In the case of pregnant ladies, we would usually not recommend taking something too nourishing as most of them would not actually need it, or are already taking other supplements as well. If you have taken it, don’t worry. However, in future, do seek advice of a TCM physician to see if the tonic soup is suitable for your body condition first, especially during pregnancy.

You can consider doing acupuncture along TCM herbal medication. In TCM, we believe sleep occurs when the Ying in our body enter into the Yang of our body. And that sleep is also very much related to the function of our heart and spleen. Therefore, we would aim to regulate these through acupuncture and herbal medication, which would eventually help with the process and quality of sleep.

It is hard to give accurate diagnosis through this way. However, it seems like you are referring to a pain at the sacral bone region, which may be an overstrain of the back muscle from, like you mentioned, carrying of your kid. But it is still best if you can come down for a diagnosis so that we can have a better picture of your situation. Possible treatment methods could include acupuncture and cupping.

4 months old is a little too young for paediatric tuina. We would usually recommend it done for children above 6 months old. However, it is still a case by case basis, so you can still bring the child down for a consultation to see if the child is suitable for paediatric tuina. You may also want to bring your baby to a paediatric doctor to evaluate her overall condition first, as passing motion every 2-3 days can be normal in certain situation, so it is important to take a look at the overall condition before taking any measure or doing any treatment.

When you should actually visit TCM, will probably depend on the purpose of the visit. Coming to us before pregnancy, will allow us to adjust your body condition and help your body prepare for pregnancy. Whereas during pregnancy, due to much consideration of the baby, we would typically keep the medication to the minimum needed, and usually only focus on helping with the smooth progression of the pregnancy. As for after pregnancy, that is usually when we would recommend ladies to see TCM to help nurture their bodies back to health or to seek treatment for other body conditions/ailment.

The average hours a kid between 1-3 years old sleeps is around 12-14 hours. However, the exact hours each kid needs depends on the individual, so it is a case by case basis. As for them not sleeping through the night, from TCM perspective, it may be due to an excess of heat in the heart, which may cause the kid to be overactive in the day and restless at night. You may want to bring him/her over to see TCM and try pediatric tuina which is useful in such situation.

Facial acupuncture is a natural skin rejuvenation technique that stimulates the body’s own self repairing mechanism and aging-reversal powers. It generates collagen, increases blood and lymph circulation and unblocks one’s vital energy. By doing so, it helps diminish lines and wrinkles, acne, enlarged pores, exhibiting a healthy glow. This holistic procedure involves the insertion of hair-thin acupuncture needles into meridian points of the face. These specific points are chosen to affect blood circulation and energy of the body according to the individual’s needs. Facial acupuncture does not only treat your face, it also works to balance your whole body and organ systems and get them working well. This is so that your face can exhibit the healthy glow from within, and not just skin deep. It is minimally invasive, natural and safe.

Some scientific studies seem to show that the mother’s diet can affect the composition of certain components in the breast milk. This suggests the possibility of confinement soup affecting the composition of the breast milk is present. Which in turn may or may not affect the jaundice situation of the child. In TCM, we believe that the characteristic of the Qi from food taken by the mother may be transfer to the child through breastfeeding. And the main cause of Jaundice is due to excessive dampness in the body. Thus if characteristics such as the heat and coldness are transferred, it may coupled or merged with the dampness in the child and further complicate the situation. Therefore, you may want to stop drinking the confinement soup and switch to a similarly nutritious but more bland option. However, the confinement soup may differ and the severity of the jaundice may be different as well, so it would be good to seek advice directly with a TCM physician.

Excessive sweating itself could mean different things under different conditions. For instance, it could be a case of excessive heat or a case of Qi deficiency. Therefore, we would need more details on her sweating situation, and also her overall condition, before we can make a diagnosis on her condition. That said, paediatric tuina is pretty useful for this kind of sub-health condition, especially for younger children.

Based on initial assessment, it would appear that your baby may have some deficiency in the Lung Qi. Therefore, it is important for treatment to be focused on prevention. Continuous coughing and repeated bronchitis will further hurt Lung Qi which should be avoided. So if possible, do consider bringing your baby to seek treatment even when the coughing is not serious. Possible treatment can include paediatric tuina and moxibustion. Do discuss with your TCM physician regarding the details. Other than treatment, on a day-to-day basis, do make sure that the back of your baby is properly covered, as there are important meridian point on the back. Also, do make sure that wind (from fan or air-con) is not blowing directly at your baby. Most importantly, do not overdress your baby, make sure he/she is not sweating too much from wearing too much.