How does Traditional Chinese Medicine treat varicocele?

Author: Zhou Xing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Wang Bin, Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

Reviewer: Chen Yun, Chief Physician, Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Varicocele is a disease caused by venous blood reflux disorder. It is one of the common male diseases, with a prevalence rate of 10% to 15% in the male population, and is more common in young and middle-aged people. People suffering from this disease are mainly male workers who stand or sit for a long time, such as traffic police, teachers, lathe operators, strong manual laborers, and people with a relatively thin and tall body.

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Varicocele is not a rare disease, nor is it a difficult and complicated disease. Most patients can recover after surgery or other treatments. If you do not want to undergo surgery, you can use traditional Chinese medicine treatment under the doctor's advice according to your condition.

1. The effect of TCM treatment varies depending on the severity of the disease

Varicocele is a local vascular disease. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the main cause of this disease is "stagnation of qi and blood", and it can be treated by taking Chinese medicine with the effect of "moving qi and activating blood circulation", such as saffron and purple salvia miltiorrhiza.

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However, whether to use traditional Chinese medicine to treat varicocele depends on the severity of the disease. And the effect of traditional Chinese medicine treatment is different for different degrees of disease.

If the B-ultrasound shows that the patient does not fully meet the diagnostic criteria for varicocele, but clinical symptoms have appeared, it can be determined that it is mild or subclinical varicocele, and Chinese medicine can be taken in a standardized manner for treatment. Through Chinese medicine treatment, the spleen and kidney are tonified, the meridians are warmed and cold is dissipated, heat is cleared and dampness is transformed, and qi is regulated and depression is relieved, which can not only relieve the patient's scrotal swelling, dull pain and other symptoms, but also improve the quality of semen.

For patients with moderate to severe varicocele, taking Chinese medicine can help slow down the degree of varicose veins and prevent further progression of the disease, but surgical treatment is still required if necessary.

2. Methods of TCM treatment of varicocele

Before or after surgery, TCM can work with Western medicine to treat varicocele to improve the efficacy of treatment, strengthen the patient's physical fitness, and accelerate postoperative healing and physical recovery. So, how does TCM treat varicocele? Here are some points:

1. The key to the treatment of varicocele is to remove blood stasis and dredge the meridians. The method of removing blood stasis has occupied an important position in TCM treatment since ancient times. Its characteristics are accurate effect and wide application. To this end, TCM physicians must distinguish whether the patient is deficiency-existence syndrome requiring tonification or excess syndrome requiring purgation, and then determine the treatment measures according to the specific situation.

2. TCM treatment mainly adopts the methods of nourishing the kidney, strengthening sperm, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. TCM believes that varicocele is mostly caused by cold stagnation of liver meridian, unhealthy diet, excessive labor, etc. The pathogenesis is mostly blood stagnation → blood stagnation → blood stasis for a long time → disease affects the kidney, leading to kidney qi deficiency, and then affecting fertility.

Therefore, TCM treatment often uses prescriptions with the effect of tonifying the kidney and activating blood circulation to dredge the qi and blood and improve the quality of semen. At the same time, TCM treatment also focuses on syndrome differentiation and treatment, and can provide targeted treatment for each patient to improve the patient's internal organs function and promote postoperative recovery.

3. After surgery for varicocele, in order to further improve the treatment effect and reduce the discomfort that patients experience after surgery, auxiliary methods of traditional Chinese medicine treatment such as plantar reflexology massage, electroacupuncture, fumigation, ginger moxibustion and scrotal massage can be used to promote the patient's recovery as soon as possible after surgery.

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4. As one of the treatments for varicocele, Chinese medicine can be used in combination with other therapies or in alternating cycles, which can delay the recurrence of varicocele after surgery. During this period, patients can take Chinese medicine that has the effects of tonifying the kidney, producing sperm, and activating blood circulation to promote testicular blood circulation, improve the metabolism and excretion of substances in the body, improve spermatogenesis and semen quality, and enhance sperm motility.

To sum up, it takes a certain amount of time for TCM to treat varicocele. Therefore, when choosing a treatment plan, patients should consider their age and physical condition, actively listen to the doctor's advice, and take appropriate treatment measures to avoid delaying treatment due to missing surgery.