Herbal essence: sweating and relieving asthma: ephedra

Ephedra sinica is the herbaceous stem of Ephedra sinica, Casuarina equisetifolia or Ephedra sinica. Produced in Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and other places. Harvest from beginning of autumn to first frost, dry in the shade and cut into sections. It is often divided into useful and honey-baked.

First, the efficacy application

Ephedra is pungent, slightly bitter and warm. Enter lung and bladder meridian.

it has the functions of sweating, relieving exterior syndrome, dispersing lung qi, relieving asthma, promoting diuresis and relieving swelling. It is one of the most representative Chinese medicines in the "sweating method" of traditional Chinese medicine, and it is an important medicine for sweating and relieving exterior syndrome.

It is often used to treat wind-cold exterior syndrome, chest tightness, asthma and cough, geomantic edema, rheumatic arthralgia, yin gangrene, phlegm and so on.

although ephedra has three functions, they are actually interrelated. Ephedra is a commonly used medicine for sweating, so it enters the lung meridian. Its nature is good at opening exterior and closing exterior and promoting lung qi, so it is good at treating cough and asthma caused by wind-cold binding exterior and stagnation of interior and heat. The sun bladder meridian governs the exterior of the whole body, the lung governs the fur, and it also governs the exterior of the whole body. Ephedra can spread lung qi, sweat and disperse body fluid, which can naturally relieve bladder meridian qi and help water to reduce swelling. It is also effective to use ephedra in clinic, although it is not allowed to sweat, but it is also effective to see its urination.

there are so-called "eight methods" for treating diseases in TCM, among which sweating method is the most difficult to master. Although there are many prescriptions for sweating, most of them are based on ephedra. Therefore, in a broad sense, if you want to learn the sweating method in the "eight methods" of Chinese medicine treatment, you must first learn the application of Chinese medicine ephedra. In the treatment of diseases, it is very complicated to treat diseases by sweating. Take ephedra as an example, if the dosage is small, the sweating power is insufficient and the disease cannot be cured; If the dosage is too much, sweating will be too much, and it is easy to hurt yin and blood and aggravate the condition. How to master the degree of sweating in order to achieve the purpose of treating diseases is actually the most difficult part of traditional Chinese medicine.

Summary of famous works:

Classic: "Treating apoplexy, typhoid headache and warm malaria. Publish sweating, remove pathogenic heat, stop cough and go against qi, remove cold and heat, and break the disease and accumulate. "

"Bielu" says: "Clear the channels and relieve the muscles."

Compendium of Materia Medica: "Ephedra is a special medicine for lung meridian, so it is often used to treat lung diseases."

Changsha Medicinal Solution: "Ephedra has a strong sweating, typhoid fever in winter and month, and fur occlusion. Otherwise, it can't penetrate the hair, and all the water is wet and phlegm drinks, and it overflows into the meridians and joints, resulting in Huo Ran sweating and stagnation."

Compendium of Materia Medica: "It is a special medicine for lung family to enter the bladder of the sun, and at the same time, to move the hands to reduce yin and Yangming. Sweat and relieve muscle, remove cold and evil in camp, and guard against wind and heat in camp. Regulating blood vessels, dredging nine orifices and opening pores. Treat apoplexy, typhoid fever, headache, warm malaria, cough against qi, phlegm, asthma, red and black spots, rubella, skin and flesh, red eyes and swelling, edema and wind swelling. "

2. Compatibility and application

1. It is used for exogenous wind-cold, aversion to cold and fever, head and body pain, stuffy nose, anhidrosis, and tight pulse. Ephedra is an important medicine for sweating and relieving exterior syndrome, because it can spread lung qi, induce phlegm and dispel cold. To treat the above syndromes, cassia twig, almond and licorice are often combined, that is, Mahuang Decoction, the first prescription of sweating method in traditional Chinese medicine. However, this side is sweating hard, and now few people only use the original side, adding and subtracting more and applying it after cutting. Clinical use is extensive, so we should focus on learning.

Treatise on Febrile Diseases: "Mahuang Decoction is the main treatment for those who suffer from sun disease, headache and fever, body pain, lumbago, joint pain, and bad wind without sweat."

Zhang Xichun said, "Ephedra is the main medicine for sweating. All the zang-fu organs and meridians in the whole body are impenetrable, and the outline of its treatment is to send out the sun and cold one by one. "

2. It is used for asthma and cough caused by wind-cold external bundle and lung qi stagnation. Ephedra can open lung qi, dispel cold and relieve asthma. For cough and asthma caused by wind-cold binding to the exterior and lung-qi failure, it is often combined with almond and licorice, that is, San 'ao Decoction.

For cough and asthma caused by external cold and internal drinking with excessive phlegm, it is often combined with cassia twig, asarum, dried ginger and Schisandra chinensis, namely Xiaoqinglong Decoction, the first prescription for phlegm drinking in Treatise on Febrile Diseases.

For patients with high fever and dyspnea caused by heat pathogen, it is often combined with gypsum, almond and licorice, namely Maxing Shigan Decoction.

3. Used for edema with exterior syndrome. Ephedra sinica can not only open lung qi, sweat and relieve exterior syndrome, but also transport bladder downwards, and dredge water channels to promote diuresis and reduce swelling. For edema caused by wind pathogen attacking the exterior and lung failure, it is often combined with gypsum and ginger, that is, Yuebai Decoction. If the whole body is swollen and urination is unfavorable, Atractylodes macrocephala can be added, that is, Yuemaifu plus Shutang.

Zhang Xichun said: "For the syndrome of wind edema, Yuemaitang is treated in Jingui, and Ephedra is the main prescription, which can dispel wind and facilitate urination. Yupingsu's clinical use of his prescription will lead to sweating, and his urination will be beneficial immediately, and the swelling will disappear. "

4. It is used for rheumatism, arthralgia, yin gangrene, phlegm and so on. Ephedra has the function of dispelling cold and dredging stagnation. For the treatment of systemic pain caused by rheumatism, it is often combined with Coix seed, almond and licorice, that is, Maxing Yigan Decoction.

For cold-dampness arthralgia, Radix Angelicae Dahuricae, Semen Persicae, Flos Carthami, Radix Paeoniae Rubra, Ramulus Cinnamomi, Herba Asari, etc. are often combined to play the role of warming meridians, activating collaterals, removing blood stasis and relieving pain, that is, Magui Wenjing Decoction.

If you treat vulvar gangrene, swelling and headless, skin color unchanged, pain and no fever, no thirst in the mouth, pale tongue with white fur, and deep or slow pulse; Or bone gangrene, gangrene, dribbling, phlegm core, crane knee wind, etc., which belong to yin-cold syndrome, are often combined with Radix Rehmanniae Preparata, Cortex Cinnamomi, Colla Cornu Cervi, Semen Sinapis Albae, etc., namely Yanghe Decoction.

If stroke wind is treated with symptoms of unconsciousness, mouth and eyes askew, hemiplegia, unsmooth speech or arthralgia due to rheumatism, it is often combined with Fangji, Ginseng, Cinnamomum cassia, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Radix Aconiti Lateralis, Scutellariae Radix, etc., * * * to play the role of dispelling wind, dispelling cold, and benefiting qi and yang, that is, Xiaoxuming Decoction. This recipe is the most profound method of "opening the mysterious door" in traditional Chinese medicine, and scholars should understand it slowly and not rush into it.

III. Usage and dosage

Ephedra is often used in decoction and pill powder. When large doses are used, it is advisable to fry first to remove foam.

In Treatise on Febrile Diseases, ephedra is required to be "festival-removed". According to modern research, there is no difference between ephedra and ephedra, but the content is less, and it is difficult to process the festival-removed, so most ephedra used today does not need to be festival-removed.

Herba Ephedrae can be used as medicine and roasted, which is generally used for relieving exterior syndrome and relieving asthma.

the dosage of ephedra is directly related to the desired curative effect. If only a few grams are used, the lung qi can be ventilated and the qi can be adjusted. The commonly used dosage is more than 1 grams, which can spread the lung and relieve asthma, diuretic and detumescence; If you want to warm the lungs and dissolve the drink, you need to use a larger amount, generally more than ten grams or even dozens of grams.

The most difficult thing to master is the use of ephedra prescription for sweating. It is an extremely complicated dynamic process to treat diseases by sweating, and Li Ke's experience in this respect is worth reference. Prunus mume can be used. When the dosage is large, it is often decocted separately, and the foam should be removed during the decocting process. When taking it, a small amount should be taken, and the dosage should be flexibly increased or decreased according to the patient's reaction after taking the medicine. If the medicine is moderately ill and achieves the purpose of sweating, reduce the dosage of ephedra to maintenance or discard it. In case of overcorrection, sweating too much hurts the vulva. The biggest advantage of this method lies in its flexibility and safety, which is worth learning. In addition, when Li Kefan uses large doses of Herba Ephedrae, in order to prevent patients from dizziness and other discomfort, he often cooperates with cicada slough, ginkgo and other producer drugs. The internal mechanism and curative effect need to be further verified.

Lu Jiuzhi said, "Ephedra can sweat with a few points, which can be used to treat people in the south, but not in the north. Covering the south with warm air, people's skin is weak and sweat is the easiest, so there is a saying in the south that ephedra is not rich; If the north is beyond the Great Wall and the climate is cold, people's skin is strong and thick. If they go out to work and don't take shelter from the wind and frost, they will be able to sweat until they spend seven or eight dollars. The way a husband uses medicine depends on the time, place and people. He should be active and considerate to win the disease, and should not be confined to prejudice. "

Wang Angyan said, "Sweat with stems to remove knots, boil for more than ten times, skim off floating foam, or soak in vinegar soup and dry in the sun for later use. There are also honey speculators. "

Fourth, application notes

Ephedra has a strong sweating ability, so spontaneous sweating due to exterior deficiency, night sweating due to yin deficiency, and asthma and cough due to kidney failure should be avoided.

in a broad sense, the contraindication in Chinese medicine sweating method is actually the contraindication of ephedra. For example, the nine prohibitions of ephedra in Mahuang decoction in Treatise on Febrile Diseases are also applicable to ephedra. For details, please refer to the relevant contents of Mahuang decoction.

Modern application should be used with caution for patients with hypertension, heart disease, dehydration and bleeding.

-notes on actual combat of traditional Chinese medicine: 2.11.5 nights

# Notes on actual combat of traditional Chinese medicine #