Taking care of your health is more important than seeking help from a doctor: "Self-care" to prevent pneumonia

Facing the severity of the new crown epidemic, what will you do? Getting vaccinated, staying at home, storing food, buying insurance...? In fact, we can also bring the focus back to our own body: think about how long you have been sitting when you read this article? Do you feel the blood flow well, or are the soles of your feet a bit cold? Living in the city has accustomed us to relying on expert treatment, making it easy to forget that we are also capable of taking care of our own bodies, and even nursing for ourselves. The World Health Organization (WHO) began to explore the feasibility of "self-care (or self-care)" education as early as the 1980s, and launched the "self-care health measures framework" in 2019 and 2021 , to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and even the global shortage of 18 million medical workers in 8 years. The WHO document more directly pointed out that the over-specialization of medical services in industrial society weakens the resource of self-care. This article will not detail such research for the time being, but it will propose the direction of active "self-help" in response to the epidemic, so that we can regain control of our bodies as individuals and not rely entirely on the medical system.

In fact, there is a lot of health wisdom in traditional culture. Take Tai Chi as an example. It is one of the traditional methods of strengthening the body that have gradually become popular all over the world. It is even regarded as a supplementary and alternative therapy by the contemporary academic and medical circles. A sort of. There are also many international studies confirming the effectiveness of this non-drug treatment: In 2018, the authoritative British medical journal "THE BMJ" published a study "Tai Chi (compared to aerobic exercise) is more effective in reducing fibromyalgia" . In 2021, the School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of California , Los Angeles will publish the study "Tai Chi Exercise Can Effectively Improve Central Obesity" in the international medical journal "Annals of Internal Medicine" . The National Institutes of Health of the United States also has a detailed introduction to Tai Chi and its curative effects. Many TCM undergraduate programs also offer Tai Chi classes themselves. This article will throw a brick to attract jade, and briefly describe how Tai Chi may respond to the new crown epidemic. I hope that everyone can find more "self-care" methods.

Many friends also asked about how to do the lung health exercises mentioned in the previous article "Precautions before and after Injection of New Crown Vaccine". Lung health-preserving exercise is Wu Family Tai Chi's way of strengthening the lungs. The author's Tai Chi master, Master He Jinhua, developed a set of lung-strengthening kung fu for the new crown pneumonia, so that we can take care of our bodies at home. Thank you Master for selflessly setting out each step in detail for public health. You can click here to see the full text of the steps .

Here I only add the "scientific" knowledge that may be related to this kung fu: Master emphasizes that the position of slapping is the scapula position on the chest under the shoulders , which is where the lymph glands of the neck and underarms meet. Promote the connection of upper and lower lymph nodes . The lymphatic system is a very important part of the immune system. Interestingly, the flow of the lymphatic system is relatively "passive", and it relies on the contraction of surrounding muscles to squeeze the lymph fluid . This is different from blood vessels. Blood vessels are connected to the heart, so that blood can flow "actively", ensuring that sufficient nutrients for life can be transported smoothly at all times, and toxic substances can be continuously discharged. Experts often recommend that we get more exercise, or simply go for a walk, because just moving the muscles has a lot to do with how the body works.

When the body is fighting against pathogens, the workload of the lymph is greatly increased, and swelling often occurs. We may all feel pain or itching, and we may also stretch out our hands to scratch and feel small bumps in our natural response. If we keep patting, we can clear the swelling, open the lymphatic valve, and help white blood cells flow to the affected area, decompose the pathogenic substances and excrete them from the body. Therefore, Master proposed to slap the scapula on the chest under the shoulders frequently to keep the immune system in the lungs unblocked. Second, we can also slap the thymus gland in front of the chest to stimulate secretion, promote the maturation of T cells, and strengthen the defense of the lungs.

As for how to pat it in place? The palm of the hand can be raised to avoid hurting the body. When you slap, you need to be strong so that you can push the blockage. 18 beats per day is generally enough to warm the lungs and back. The sense of warmth is an indicator that the body can transport substances smoothly without compressing the blood vessels due to enlarged lymph nodes.

Applying the traditional Chinese medicine saying that "if it is normal, it will not hurt, and if it is painful, it will not work." If the lymph nodes are swollen enough to press on the nerves, then we will definitely feel pain. Therefore, we can pay more attention to where there is pain in the body, there is a blockage, and there is a warning signal from the body, so we should take care of it .