Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has made special contribution
to China's space mission, said Li Yongzhi, chief doctor of the
China Space Center.
Experiment results in the past years have proved that the TCM
and traditional Chinese medical treatment are effective in curing
aerospace illness like radiation harms and head congestion, said
the doctor.
The physical conditions of astronauts vary much from taking and
not taking TCM in the experiments, including strength, endurance
and heart and lung functions, he said.
TCM has minor side-effects than western medicine and the
treatment is easy to conduct in space flight missions, he said.
Li reached Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, the two astronauts
aboard the Shenzhou VI?for China's second manned space mission
launched Wednesday, asking their physical feelings on the first
circle around the earth. "I'm feeling good," the astronauts
replied.
Doctors have been closely monitoring the physical conditions of
the astronauts, including their blood pressure, body temperature,
and sleeping and dining.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2005)