acupuncture and phytotherapy |

Translating by symptoms and drugs… (continued)

Finally there is the last sub-category that describes chinese herbal prescriptions to release the exterior and strengthen immunity to disease. These herbal prescriptions are recommended when there is invasion of external pathogenic factors and wei qi (defensive qi) deficiency.

In this case both external patterns can be wind-cold or wind-heat and patterns of deficiency can be related to yin, yang, qi and blood. There are some more well-established relations between them: the use of wind-cold-damp more easily invade a patient with qi or yang deficiency. For other side is more common pattern of wind-heat attacking a patient with yin deficiency.

In the case of wind-cold with qi or yang deficiency must use drugs that eliminate wind-cold (pungent and warm) and drugs that tonify the qi and supplement yang (warm and sweet). Dosage will depend on the intensity of symptoms.

Warm and spicy drugs to eliminate wind-cold as Herba ephedrae or ramulus cinnamomi should be used to eliminate wind-cold. To supplement the yang use drugs as Cortex cinnamomi and to tonify qi use drugs such as Radix Ginseng.

As noted in patients with yin or blood deficiency invasion by wind-heat external patterns is more common. This case is associated with pungent and cool drugs as Radix Puerariae or Herba Menthae to eliminate wind-heat and yin tonic drugs as Rhizoma Polygonati odorata, Radix Ophiopogon or Radix Adenophorae to nourish yin and blood tonic drugs such as Radix Angelicae Sinensis to nourish blood.

Chinese herbal prescriptions as Jia Jian Wei Rui Tang (Decoction of Polygonatum odoratum Modified) and Cong Bai Qi Wei Yin (Decoction of onion with seven ingredients) are examples of Chinese patent formulas to treat these patterns.