1. The connotation of "preventing diseases" in traditional Chinese medicine There is a famous saying in Huainanzi: "A good doctor often treats diseases before they occur, so there is no disease; Saints often cure suffering without suffering, so there is no suffering. " "Prevention before illness" is an important thought of TCM prevention and treatment. The "governance" here does not simply refer to medical treatment, but also includes management, sorting, governance, research and so on. "Prevention before illness" means taking measures in advance to prevent the occurrence and development of diseases. Its meaning is very broad. Generally speaking, it can be understood as three levels: first, prevention before illness; second, prevention of stagnation; and third, prevention after illness. It requires people to prevent diseases at ordinary times, pay attention to prevent minor illnesses from causing major disasters, and prevent the disease from getting worse when it comes, so as to grasp the initiative of health. Specifically, the "prevention of disease" in traditional Chinese medicine mainly includes the following contents: health preservation first, disease prevention first. There is no doubt that "preventing diseases" should first pay attention to daily maintenance and adjustment, take precautions and take active measures to prevent diseases. That is, it is emphasized in Huangdi Neijing that "the sage has not been cured, but the disease has not healed, and the treatment has been chaotic." Pay attention to maintaining your body at ordinary times, and prevent the occurrence of diseases from two aspects: cultivating healthy qi, improving your body's ability to resist evil spirits and preventing the invasion of diseases. To prevent a slight delay, to save the disease. "Huangdi Neijing" puts forward: "Go to work to save its buds." That is to say, although the disease has not yet occurred, there have been some signs, or when the disease is still in its infancy, effective measures should be taken to prevent the occurrence of the disease. We know that there is no clear boundary between health and disease, and there may be a "third state" (that is, sub-health state) in the middle. In the "third state", although the body has begun to undergo some abnormal changes, the symptoms have not yet been revealed, or although there are a few clinical manifestations, it is not enough to diagnose the disease. There are two possibilities for the future of the "third state": either it will be transformed into a healthy state or it will be transformed into a disease state. The task of "preventing disease" in TCM is to promote its transformation to a healthy state. Huangdi Neijing mentioned: "The left cheek of patients with liver heat is red first, the heart heat is red first, the nose of patients with spleen heat is red first, the right cheek of patients with lung heat is red first and the kidney heat is red first. Although there is no disease, if you see a red man stabbing it, it is said that you have not been cured. " Obviously, the "treatment before disease" here is not to prevent the disease before it happens, but to take measures to cure its precursors when the disease has not happened but will happen. Clinically, most diseases such as stroke have premonitory symptoms, such as dizziness, numbness of limbs and hand tremor. If we can find it in time and take decisive measures, we can avoid the disease. There are also some paroxysmal diseases, such as asthma. When there are premonitory symptoms or in remission, measures can be taken in advance to prevent their attacks. 2. Treat the disease as early as possible to prevent its spread. In the early stage of the disease, measures should be taken in time and actively treated to prevent the development and spread of the disease, which also belongs to the content of "treating the disease before it occurs". Zhang Zhongjing said in the synopsis of the golden chamber: "if the meridians are moderate and the viscera are not scattered, then treat them." Only the limbs feel heavy stagnation, that is, guiding, breathing, acupuncture and rubbing. Don't block the nine orifices. " He also said: "seeing the disease of the liver, knowing that the liver transmits the spleen, we must first strengthen the spleen." Both emphasize the early treatment of diseases. In the early stage of the disease, the illness is generally shallow, the illness is mild, and the damage to vital qi is not serious. Early treatment is easy to solve the problem. As "The Origin of Medicine" said: "If the disease is shallow at the beginning, it is easy to cure; Long and deep, difficult to treat. " "So ordinary people have little discomfort and must be treated immediately. They must not suddenly become minor illnesses, but will gradually deepen; It is even more difficult to support it, which will worsen the condition and cause endless harm. " If the disease is cured at an early stage, it will not develop further or worsen. Otherwise, it will be even more difficult to wait until the disease is strong and serious. Fundamentally speaking, human medicine should be about "health" rather than "disease". The treatment of "sick" is only a last resort after the disease occurs, and it is "negative medicine"; And "nip in the bud" is active. Prevention first, prevention is more important than treatment, it should be said that it is the knowledge of Chinese and western medicine. Modern preventive medicine mainly aims at the occurrence and development law of diseases in the population, explores and analyzes the influence of the main pathogenic factors in the environment on people's health, and achieves the purpose of promoting health and preventing diseases through public health measures. The idea of "treating diseases before they occur" in traditional Chinese medicine advocates maintaining the balance of yin and yang in the human body through personal health care methods and means such as diet, exercise and psychological adjustment, and improving the body's inherent ability to prevent and resist diseases, so as to achieve the healthy state of "keeping healthy qi hidden inside and evil not causing trouble", thus maintaining the healthy state of "keeping spirit hidden inside and being worry-free of illness". (Excerpted from Interpretation of Prevention of Diseases in Traditional Chinese Medicine edited by Wang Qi, China Traditional Chinese Medicine Publishing House)