Al Stone, L.Ac.
Beyond Well Being
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicines
Santa Monica, CA.
(310) 264-6668
Al Not-Stone
wrote:
Can acupuncture restore my important sense of taste and smell?
I lost
these senses about 5-6 months ago after having the flu. Have tried
antibiotics and cortizone with no relief. Very frustrating.
We say that the health of the Spleen will effect your ability to taste. Now its just a matter of making a case that connects your flu to your Spleen problem. Incidentally, the spleen in Western medicine has nothing to do with the organ that I'm talking about. It might be more appropriate to say the "pancreas" but out of habit and convention, we call it a Spleen.
At any rate, there is a theory within Chinese medicine that says a germ or virus can manifest as a cold, but then it can turn into a flu and eventually become a chronic problem if the pathogen goes deeper into the body such as into the Spleen. If the flu is never really cured, the germ or virus can go into hiding within the internal organs. The Spleen is one location for these pathogens to hide in. Once there, they begin to create chronic digestive problems.
One of the functions of the Spleen is to make your food taste good. There are other symptoms that I would expect to arise in association with a Spleen problem. These symptoms include: bloating, gas, loose stools, fatigue, inability to concentrate, easy bruising, hermorrhoids, lack of appetite, and perhaps edema around the middle of your body.
The acupuncture and (as importantly) Chinese herbal therapies can help you. If you've been messing with too many antibiotics, you're killing off all the friendly flora in your gut. If the problem does indeed arise from your Spleen, then the antibiotics are aggravating the situation. The Spleen likes warm and dry. Antibiotics are very cold in nature and so they can cause additional problems for the Spleen.
The other possibility is that the fever of the flu has dried up the liquids of the stomach. A key symptom of this so-called Stomach Yin deficiency would be a constant gnawing hunger that is not helped with eating food. Other symptoms would include sour stomach, gastritis, or heartburn. Problems in the Stomach can easily transfer into the Spleen and we're back to where we began.
If there are no other digestive problems then we'd have to explore other possible explanations.
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Al Stone, L.Ac. |