Fundamentals of Nursing Q 567
A nurse is caring for a Chinese client who is hospitalized due to pneumonia. Based on their culture, which of the following is believed to be the cause of the illness?
A. An illness is cast by an enemy.
B. An illness is a result of punishment for sins.
C. An illness may be attributed to overexertion.
D. An illness may be given by someone who did not want it.
Correct Answer: C. An illness may be attributed to overexertion.
Illness for Chinese people may be attributed to prolonged sitting or lying or to overexertion. Health is maintained through a balance between “yin” (cold) and “yang” (hot) forces. A lack of “chi” (energy) causes illness. The body is viewed as a gift and must be valued through proper care.
Option A: When there is disharmony and imbalance of the functional entities, the cardinal functions cannot be not well-performed and as a result, the body becomes ill. Illness then is ultimately viewed as arising from an imbalance of qi and yin-yang, rather than a purely physical phenomenon.
Option B: When a person is ill, he or she will manifest different disease symptoms. Given that everything has Wu Xing, a pattern of disharmony can be identified by a trained doctor. Because all the functional entities are interconnected, accurately pinpointing patterns of illness is considered to be one of the most challenging aspects for aspiring acupuncturists.
Option D: As such, illness can be identified as to how the functional entities are imbalanced. At the most basic level, this is measured as there is an excess (vacuity) or deficiency (stagnation) in one of the entities.