There is a category of
illness in Chinese Medicine that Western Medicine is so far unable to describe.
In the ancient texts, it is referred to as latent pathogenic factors (LPF).
While improvements in medical technologies may someday “discover” latent
pathogenic factors, so far conventional medicine has no answers for many
patients with symptoms of unknown cause. However, Chinese Medicine does have
answers for these patients with the explanation of latent pathogenic factors.
So what is a latent
pathogenic factor? It is generally regarded to be a pathogen (such as a
bacteria, virus, or parasite) that enters the body without causing an
appropriate immune response that kills the pathogen. The pathogen then “lurks”
deep within the body and may not produce symptoms right away. Months or years
later, symptoms occur and disease emerges -- seemingly from an unknown cause.
There are many
different ways this can play out, and there are a multitude of illnesses that
can occur as a result of a latent pathogenic factor. This depends on both the
type of pathogen that invading the body as well as the individual constitution
(or genetics) of the patient. Within the context of Western Medicine, some
diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis, Lyme Disease, and herpes could definitely be
classified as being caused by a latent pathogenic factor since symptoms do not
occur immediately.
However, there are a
variety of other things that can be caused by a latent pathogenic factor, even
though the pathogen is not detected by conventional medical techniques. In most
cases, an acupuncturist will diagnose a latent pathogenic factor based on the
patient’s health history and palpation of the pulse and acupuncture meridians.
The appearance of the patient’s tongue may also be an indicator of a latent
pathogen. These methods of diagnosis take years to learn, and often require the
acupuncturist to see many cases of latent pathogenic factors to be able to
recognize them.
Autoimmune disease of
all kinds, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, autism, asthma, Crohn’s
disease, chronic sinusitis or post-nasal drip, and chronic cough may all be
caused by latent pathogens in some cases. A patient may experience a cold or
flu-like illness, subsequently seems to recover in a few days, and soon after
develops a new symptom such as asthma or fatigue. In children, a parent may
observe that the child developed asthma or behavioral problems after suffering
from an ear infection or a common cold. This is what an acupuncturist
in Del Mar would diagnose as a
latent pathogenic factor.
The great news is that
there are solutions in Chinese Medicine to latent pathogenic factors. The
treatment period could take several months or longer, depending on the severity
of the pathogen, the strength of the patient’s will to get better, and the
period of time the pathogen has been lodged in the body. While a total “cure”
may not be possible in some cases, the patient will often become asymptomatic
for many decades. Sometimes the acupuncturist can detect if the latent pathogen
has been completely eliminating by noticing a subtle change in the pulse quality
or disappearance of nodules in the affected acupuncture meridians.
