JCM Review
This is a new, greatly expanded edition, of Julian Scott's seminal work on paediatric acupuncture. He may be considered to be the pioneer of the use of acupuncture for children in the Western world, writing the first edition of this book in 1986 when even the idea of treating babies and very young children was almost unknown. Many years have now passed and Julian Scott's clinical experience and expertise have grown equivalently, and he and his co-author are now in a position to offer the benefits of this expertise in treating Western children. The introduction to this edition explains "We have tried to make the book more fun to read, avoiding (as best we could) those stilted expressions that seem to rise naturally in translations of Chinese medical texts. In its place we have substituted genuine English ' the sort a patient can understand! Next, we have described what actually happens in the Western clinic. How many treatments before you can expect results? What should you say when the patient complains? When must you insist on using needles, and when is moxa or massage enough? We have also introduced patterns of disease that we see in the clinic, but which are not described in Chinese texts. One of these patterns, which we call hyperactive Spleen qi deficiency, arises from a combination of junk food, computer games, and lack of discipline ' a combination that is not yet common in China. Throughout the book we have introduced new patterns of this sort, whenever we have experienced them. We have done our best to make it clear which information comes from China and which from our fertile imaginations. Finally this edition focuses more on our own experience at clinics in England and the United States. It is perhaps for this reason more than any other that we feel this book will be of benefit to all practitioners: it is based on the realities of the Western clinic. If we say that something works, it is because we have actually found it to work. It is an experience that we would like to share with others, so that you too may do your part in treating the countless children who need help".
At close to double the size of the previous edition, this new version has many new sections. There are 14 new chapters covering such subjects as basic childhood patterns, puberty and the stages of development, immunisations, learning difficulties, hayfever, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, autism, Down's syndrome, cerebral palsy and infantile paralysis. When added to the 25 disease chapters presented in the previous edition, this represents a very thorough analysis of the main disorders presenting in a children's clinic. There is also a new outline of patterns commonly encountered in children and an extensive list of paediatric symptoms and diseases that are treatable with acupuncture. As always, whilst presenting theory and differentiation in a clear and comprehensive manner, the approach is equally based on clinical reality. This is a fine textbook which is simply the leader in its field. Furthermore, it is evidence once again of the coming of age of acupuncture in the West.
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