How to describe medical symptoms in English?

Welcome! Have you had acupuncture before? Our first visit includes a full consultation and treatment. It's usually about 90 minutes.

欢迎！你以前做过针灸吗？我们的初诊包括完整的咨询和治疗。通常大约90分钟。

The initial consultation is $120, and follow-up sessions are $85 each. Many insurance plans now cover acupuncture — we accept Blue Cross, Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare. Can I have your insurance card to check your coverage?

初诊120美元，之后每次85美元。现在很多保险计划都覆盖针灸——我们接受 Blue Cross、Aetna 和 UnitedHealthcare。能给我看你的保险卡让我查一下你的覆盖范围吗？

Our lead practitioner, Dr. Li, is actually trained in Beijing. She practices traditional Chinese medicine — pulse diagnosis, tongue reading, the whole thing. She also does cupping and moxibustion if needed.

我们的主治医师李医生在北京受过训练。她做的是传统中医——脉诊、看舌苔，全套的。如果需要她也做拔罐和艾灸。

Let me check... Dr. Li has an opening Thursday at 2 PM and Friday at 10 AM. Which works better for you? And please wear loose, comfortable clothing — she'll need access to your back, arms, and legs.

我看看……李医生周四下午2点和周五上午10点有空。哪个时间更方便？请穿宽松舒适的衣服——她需要接触你的背部、手臂和腿。

Just your insurance card and ID. If you have any medical records or X-rays related to your back pain, bring those too. Please eat a light meal beforehand — acupuncture on an empty stomach can make you lightheaded. And avoid caffeine before the session.

带上保险卡和身份证就行。如果有跟腰疼相关的病历或X光片也带上。治疗前请吃点东西——空腹做针灸可能会头晕。治疗前也避免咖啡因。

I'm glad you brought that up — it's very important. Can you tell me exactly what herbs you're taking? Do you have the packaging or a list of ingredients?

很高兴你提到这个——非常重要。能告诉我你在吃什么药材吗？有包装或者成分清单吗？

Thank you, that's helpful. Let me look these up. Huang Qi — that's astragalus, right? I need to check if it interacts with your blood pressure medication. Some Chinese herbs can affect how your liver processes certain drugs.

谢谢，这很有帮助。让我查一下。黄芪——就是 astragalus 对吧？我需要确认它和你的降压药有没有相互作用。有些中药会影响肝脏代谢某些药物的方式。

I understand, and I respect traditional Chinese medicine — it has thousands of years of history. My concern is specifically about drug interactions. I'm seeing that astragalus may boost immune function, which is generally fine, but could theoretically interfere with immunosuppressants. Since you're not on any, it should be okay. The sleep formula looks safe too.

我理解，我也尊重传统中医——它有几千年的历史。我关心的是药物相互作用。我看到黄芪可能增强免疫功能，一般没问题，但理论上可能干扰免疫抑制剂。因为你没有在吃免疫抑制剂，应该没问题。那个安眠方剂看起来也安全。

I think that's actually a great idea. Integrative medicine is becoming more common here. If your acupuncturist can send me their treatment notes, I'll include them in your file. Just make sure any new herbs or supplements are run by me first — better safe than sorry.

我觉得这是个很好的想法。整合医学在这边越来越普遍了。如果你的针灸师能把治疗记录发给我，我会放进你的档案。只是要确保任何新的中药或保健品先跟我说一声——安全第一。