Healing Young Lives: Traditional Chinese Medicine for Pediatric Care – An Interview with Dr. Baisong Zhong, L.Ac. (Houston, TX)
Sherri: Hi Dr. Zhong, I understand that you have an extensive medical background both in pediatric and internal medicine as well as teaching at the American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). It sounds like you keep very busy, so I appreciate you taking the time
to meet with me today.
- With studying both internal medicine and pediatric medicine in TCM, how did you become an authority in the field of pediatric medicine?
Dr. Zhong: I graduated medical school in 1983 and at the time the competition was very high in internal medicine but not so much with pediatric medicine because pediatric medicine tends to be more stressful to the practitioner depending on the practitioner’s knowledge. Because of my education and medical training, I thought pediatric medicine would be a good field for me. I also love working with children and have a family with 3 boys of my own at home.
- What are the common conditions and eastern medicine patterns you see in clinic with children?
Dr. Zhong: About 1/3 of the cases I see clinically in pediatrics are allergies, digestive conditions and/or eczema. Other conditions that I see frequently are upper respiratory conditions such as cold, flu and tonsillitis. Stress is a common condition that causes other conditions to manifest such as wheezing, anxiety, digestive issues and concentration problems.
Sherri: Can you give me an example of something you see in clinic and the patterns that you come across in eastern medicine?
Dr. Zhong: Yes, for example, if I see a baby with eczema, I have to differentiate between the lung and spleen meridians and whether this condition was caused by food. Eczema presents as wind damp cold or wind damp heat in Chinese Medicine. In this case I would give an oral and topical treatment for the baby.
- Is it true that children respond more quickly to treatment, versus treating an adult patient?
Dr. Zhong: Yes, that is true. Children respond very well to treatment because of all the yang energy they possess. Presentations change very quickly with children due to their yang energy, and when treating children, you have to be sure your diagnosis is correct or the condition can worsen quickly as well.
- What is the age range that you treat with pediatrics?
Dr. Zhong: Like I tell my students, “Acupuncture can treat all disease from the head to the feet no matter what the age.” According to the Emperor’s Classic definition, pediatrics is classified as an infant to age 14 in girls and age 16 for boys. When treating babies and children it is very important for them not to see the needles, so I treat them face down or on their backside so they don’t see what I am doing. You can retain the needles longer this way. Most of the needles that I insert are head points like Si Shen Cong and Ja Ji points.
- What are some of the tools you use to treat pediatrics besides Acupuncture?
Dr. Zhong: In addition to the Acupuncture, I also perform pediatric tui na massage and massage the channels. Also, I prescribe herbal medicine orally and sometimes topically as well.
- Do you practice any cupping or gua sha in your pediatric practice?
Dr. Zhong: I do incorporate cupping into my practice but not very often. I use flash cupping for cases presenting with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Children are very easy to bruise and you can damage their skin easily, so I do not retain the cups with cupping nor do I treat them with gua sha.
- What are your thoughts on using Moxibustion for children?
Dr. Zhong: I don’t do a lot of moxibustion with kids but if I do they are older than 7 years old.
Sherri: Is this because they are very yang in nature, so they generally don’t need treatment to intensify that yang energy?
Dr. Zhong: Yes, that’s why I do a lot of Acupuncture points on the head such as Si Shen Cong to calm the yang energy and to push the yang energy down to root it.
- What are some common formulas and/or single herbs you use in pediatric medicine?
Dr. Zhong: Now that we are getting into the fall season, I see many pediatric respiratory illnesses with symptoms such a s fever, sore throat, cough, ect. In these instances, I use a lot of Yin Qiao San, Sang Ju Yin, and Ma Xing She Gan Tang.
- Can you review the dosing of herbs for pediatrics and what type of herbal medicine do you prescribe? Do you prescribe tinctures at all for children? Do you have a trick/tip to suggest for the kids to take the medicine so that it tastes better?
Dr. Zhong: Yes, for babies under a year old, I prescribe 1/6 to 1/4 of the adult dose, for children 1-3 years old the dose is 1/3 to 1/2 of the adult dose, children 4-7 years old, ½ to 2/3 of the adult dose and children 8-14 years old they take 2/3 to the full adult dose. I prefer to use granules for kids. It is important to choose simple formulas without too many herbs and the better tasting herbs. I avoid the bitter herbs with kids so they will be more likely to take it, and I do not use tinctures with flavoring. I find that most kids are likely to take what I prescribe them because they realize it helps them feel better, so they take it without any problems.
- How many children do you see in a day at clinic?
Dr. Zhong: I have 2 different clinics, one for pediatrics and the other for adults. In my pediatric clinic I will see over 100 patients in half a day. Over the years, I have seen generations of families that might have started in pediatrics and now I see them as an adult and eventually I see their children.
- Can you give me an example of 1-2 case studies that you have treated in clinic?
Dr. Zhong: Sure, this morning I had a 4-year old in clinic that presented with wheezing from a food allergy. I needled Ren 22, Ding Chuan, GB 20, and Si Shen Cong and retained them for 15 minutes. I also prescribed a modified version of Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang. During the acute stage of attack, it is important to treat frequently to prevent the symptoms from happening again. After the acute phase, I treat 1x per week every other week for 3-6 months.
Another case I have is also a 4-year-old now but until the age of 3 years old he never spoke a word. I treated him with acupuncture using DU 15 for aphasia, Si Shen Cong, UB 15, UB 19, and UB 20. It is important to do a lot of scalp points on kids not just for the yang energy but also because their brains are not fully developed; kids have more water in their brain. In this case, we want to tonify the spleen and the heart to open the orifice. I prescribed this patient Gui Pi Tang plus Si Chang Pu. For children with more of an ADD presentation, I add Chan Tui and Ju Hua to this formula. This 4 year old is now speaking and doing well with treatment.
- What other advice do you have for practitioners that may also want to specialize in this field of medicine?
Dr. Zhong: To become a pediatrician requires specialized training that includes pathology and physiology of children, and pediatric conditions. The key to keeping kids healthy is doing more preventative medicine because whatever complication they present; it can get severe rather quickly due to their yang energy. Treat the condition and work on preventing complications.
- Now that the fall is approaching, do you have any prevention advice in keeping kids healthy from the cold/flu and respiratory illnesses?
Dr. Zhong: Yes, nutrition is very important and can be a form of preventative medicine. If kids present with cold and flu it’s best to advise them not to eat any heavy, rich, greasy foods or fast food. Fresh fruit such as mulberries are good to eat to tonify the kidney. I also recommend staying away from smoked or processed foods during the cold and flu season. Staying away from these foods during the season can help prevent illness from occurring.
Sherri: Dr. Zhong thank you again for taking the time out of your busy workday at the college to give us a little insight into treating pediatric patients.
Dr. Zhong: You’re welcome.