A 2-year-old child with influenza A was taken to a yoga studio for enema treatment, but the condition got worse the more he was treated! The truth behind this...

gossip

"Can influenza A be treated through bloodletting and enema?"

Some institutions claim that they can provide "physical therapy services" including bloodletting and enema, and the effects include but are not limited to the treatment and regulation of influenza A.

Rumor Analysis

This practice is not reasonable.

Since ancient medicine was not yet well developed, bloodletting and enema were often used as "universal therapies" to treat a variety of diseases. However, with the development of medicine, these two methods were only used to deal with certain special diseases, and influenza was not included.

Recently, a parent decided to perform bloodletting and enema treatment on a child with influenza A at a yoga studio. Is this right? Let's talk about it separately.

Picture from Weibo

Is bloodletting therapy reasonable?

From the perspective of modern medicine, this is certainly unreasonable!

However, if we go back to ancient Rome, the doctors at that time would probably really recommend bloodletting.

The most influential doctor in ancient Rome was named Galen (note, not the Demacia one…), who was a staunch supporter of the theory of four humors. According to the theory of four humors, there are four humors in the human body: blood, mucus, black bile, and yellow bile. Only when these four humors are in balance can the human body be healthy; if they are not balanced, people will get sick, and the doctor's task is to restore the balance.

Of the four body fluids, the most important and easiest to observe is blood. Too much or too little blood is a sign of disease. For example, in addition to an increase in body temperature, a patient with a fever also has faster blood circulation, which causes facial flushing. In ancient Rome, ancient doctors believed that this was a typical manifestation of polyhemorrhagic disease.

Because too much blood can cause disease, Galen proposed bloodletting as a treatment. In the era when his theory dominated Western medicine, bloodletting became one of the most widely used treatment methods in the West. For Galen, bloodletting was a simple and quick way to treat diseases. He believed that symptoms such as menstruation, nosebleeds, and hemorrhoids were all self-regulating mechanisms of the human body, which were beneficial and harmless.

A tool kit once used for bloodletting from Wikipedia

At that time, bloodletting had a solid theoretical basis, and as long as this basis existed, bloodletting was reasonable. However, in 1628, English physician William Harvey published "On the Motion of the Heart and Blood", which proposed a completely different explanation of how blood circulates in the human body. Blood flows out of the heart, passes through various organs of the body, and finally returns to the heart.

Harvey's theory shows that blood is a means of transport in the human body. Directly draining blood from the body is not only not a treatment method, but can even be harmful to the body. Except for very rare cases, such as polycythemia vera, bloodletting therapy is almost useless. Therefore, based on the fact that bloodletting therapy is no longer widely used, as to the question of whether "bloodletting therapy to treat influenza A (or any other disease)" is reasonable, as long as you see the four words "bloodletting therapy", you can make a rough judgment.

As for the child mentioned in the news, his health deteriorated after the bloodletting treatment. This is easy to explain. After all, there is a disease called "anemia" which can be life-threatening in severe cases. If someone lacks medical knowledge and does not know how to properly bleed, it can be very dangerous.

Is enema treatment appropriate?

From the perspective of modern medicine, enema can indeed be used in some cases, but it is certainly not reasonable to say that "enema can cure all diseases"!

However, if we go back to ancient Egypt, doctors would really give advice like "give an enema when in doubt."

Ancient Egyptian doctors had a wonderful understanding of the physiological functions of the human body. They realized that the heart could pump blood, and at the same time they imagined that there was another circulation center near the rectum and anus, which was responsible for expelling dirty substances from the body.

It is precisely because of this understanding that ancient Egyptian doctors had an extraordinary enthusiasm for enema. They would first perform an enema operation when encountering various diseases, because they believed that this would help the human body become healthier. Therefore, if you were a person living in ancient Egypt, it would be reasonable to use enema to treat any disease, of course, whether it was effective or not is another matter.

An enema tool from wiki

However, in modern medicine, enema treatment is much more limited. For example, for patients with severe dry stools, enema can soften the stool and facilitate excretion. At the same time, some suppositories are inserted into the rectum through the anus, which is also a reasonable way to administer medicine. In some rarer cases, such as ulcerative colitis, enema can also be used to administer medicine. But when it comes to the wide range of applications, it is definitely not on the same level as ancient Egyptian doctors.

More importantly, which of the above listed cases is suitable for treating viral infectious diseases? Obviously, none of them is suitable. Influenza A is an infectious disease caused by influenza virus infection, and it is indeed not suitable for enema treatment.

How to deal with influenza A

Simply put, when facing influenza A, we must work hard on prevention.

First of all, vaccination is very useful. Since Edward Jenner invented the cowpox vaccination method in the late 18th century, vaccines have been one of the most powerful weapons for humans to fight infectious diseases. How does it work? In layman's terms, the human body will develop corresponding immunity after contact with pathogens, but it is also very likely to cause infectious diseases. Vaccines allow pathogens that are not so lethal, or inactivated pathogens, to come into contact with the human body, which will not cause serious diseases, but can also make people immune.

Some infectious diseases can provide long-term immune protection after vaccination with the corresponding vaccine, without the need for regular injections. However, pathogens such as influenza virus cannot provide long-term protection with a one-time injection, so they need to be vaccinated again every year before the epidemic season to reduce the risk of infection or severe illness after infection. For influenza, new influenza vaccines are produced every year by predicting the virus strain, so it is very meaningful to get the influenza vaccine every year and it is very valuable for preventing influenza.

Wearing a mask is also really useful. Because for respiratory diseases, wearing a mask can effectively cut off the transmission mode, which is naturally an effective preventive measure.

Always consult a doctor before taking medicine. The pathogen that causes influenza A is a virus, not a bacterium. Since Fleming invented penicillin, various antibiotics have emerged one after another. Doctors have a lot of weapons to deal with bacterial infections. However, when facing viruses, the effect of antiviral drugs is generally worse than that of antibiotics.

****At the same time, each drug will also have some side effects during treatment, so when using antiviral drugs, you need to strictly follow the medication and indications, which needs to be done under the guidance of a doctor. Therefore, when facing influenza A, it is not advisable to take medicine without authorization. It is best to seek medical treatment in time. It is safe and reliable to treat and use drugs under the guidance of a doctor.

Is it reasonable to treat illness in a yoga studio?

Maybe you don't realize it, but going to the hospital to see a doctor is an act of protecting your rights and ensuring your safety . You should know that not everyone can practice medicine. After a long period of study, medical students have to pass the practicing physician examination before they can get a practicing physician certificate. This is not enough, they also need to register at the place of practice before they can practice medicine.

In other words, in theory, doctors should practice medicine in the hospital where they work to truly abide by the law. In some cases, doctors in one hospital can also practice medicine in another hospital, which is also within the reasonable scope stipulated by the law. But no matter what, medical qualifications and legal places of practice are essential.

So the question is, why is a yoga studio called a yoga studio and not a "yoga hospital"? Because this is a place for practicing yoga, not a place for seeing a doctor.

Looking in the mirror of rumors

Sometimes, we see some new so-called "therapies" that are not available in regular hospitals, but these "therapies" are often not unheard of because they are ahead of their times. They may very well come from the garbage dump of history or the inspiration of a scammer.

Health is precious and life is priceless. When we are sick, we should seek help from regular medical institutions.

Planning and production

Author: Sun Yifei, Associate Professor of Hebei Medical University

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert