Bacterial infections have never left humanity; ancient people also suffered from bacterial infections, which could be life-threatening in severe cases. Most bacteria are invisible to the naked eye, and humans first observed bacteria under a microscope in the late 17th century. Although ancient people could not see bacteria, they rationally deduced that a "pathogenic qi" or "toxic qi" invaded the body, causing infection symptoms. Severe bacterial infections could lead to fever, redness, swelling, and pus discharge at the infected site. Therefore, ancient people named these external "pathogenic qi" as "heat toxin," "dampness toxin," or "dampness-heat toxin." The medicines used were collectively referred to as "heat-clearing and detoxicating medicinal." These Chinese medicinals have been proven through modern pharmacological experiments to have significant antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral effects, equivalent to broad-spectrum antibiotics and antiviral drugs in modern medicine.
The first antibiotic in modern medicine, penicillin, was accidentally discovered in 1928. However, broad-spectrum antibiotics in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have been discovered and used for hundreds or even thousands of years and are still widely used in the field of TCM today. Some formulas with names containing "detoxifying " are generally used for sterilization and antiviral purposes.
Incidentally, the earliest recorded vaccine in the world is found in the Eastern Jin Dynasty's Zhouhou Beiji Fang, used to treat rabies. By the late Ming and early Qing dynasties (1600–1644), smallpox vaccination was already widespread, while the West did not invent the cowpox vaccine until 1796. Due to the oppression by Western powers a century ago, Eastern cultures began to lose confidence in their own traditions, leading to the suppression and neglect of TCM. As a result, the development of TCM stagnated for a century, and the once-advanced clearing heat and removing toxin Chinese medicinals were overshadowed by modern antibiotics.
Antibiotics in modern medicine are derived from low-grade molds and microorganisms, with single components and simple structures, making bacteria prone to developing resistance. They also have higher toxic side effects. In contrast, antibiotics in TCM are complex formulas extracted from higher plants with high molecular structures. Used for thousands of years, they do not induce resistance and have lower toxic side effects. The superiority is evident. A single compound like Sweet Wormwood can win a Nobel Prize. If someone could elucidate the generation and transformation mechanisms of TCM's clearing heat and removing toxin compound formulas, they could undoubtedly win several Nobel Prizes in Medicine.When using heat-clearing and detoxicating medicinals, TCM also considers the body's "healthy qi," which refers to the patient's physical strength and immunity. If the patient is deficient, in addition to using heat-clearing and detoxicating medicinals to help eliminate bacteria and viruses, it is also necessary to boost the patient's healthy qi with tonics. This approach is collectively called "eliminating pathogen and strengthening vital qi method," a concept lacking in modern medicine, which at most provides intravenous drips of saline or glucose.
Based on years of experience, the author has found that heat-clearing and detoxifying medicinals alone can treat acute urethritis, acute suppurative tonsillitis, acute sinusitis, acute folliculitis, acute upper respiratory infections, and gum swelling and pain caused by dental plaque infections. Since learning TCM, the author's family has never needed to use modern antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs.
Modern medicine is currently troubled by the increasing medicinal resistance of bacteria and the decreasing development of new antibiotics, leading to a scarcity of available antibiotics. The advantages of TCM's heat-clearing and detoxifying medicinals are their lack of toxic side effects, their effective components being complex formula macromolecular structures, making it difficult for bacteria to develop medicinal resistance, and their broad-spectrum antibacterial and antiviral properties, making them suitable as a first-line treatment for infections. If ineffective, modern antibiotics are then considered. My family has been cured of acute infections by taking Chinese medicinals for many years, and we have not taken modern antibiotics for a long time. The ancient heat-clearing and toxin-removing Chinese medicinals have achieved such a level, which I find quite impressive. Moreover, TCM has just emerged from the low point of being suppressed last century and is gradually recovering some of its original qi. If it can improve the concentration of heat-clearing and detoxifying medicinals, strive for continuous improvement, and refine its techniques, it is not impossible that it may completely replace modern antibiotics in the future.
