In winter, the north is very dry and cold. At the same time, many places have heating indoors, so the room will be very dry. Many people even need to install a humidifier or put a basin of water in the room.
However, the situation in the south is completely different. In the south, the humidity is relatively heavy throughout the year, especially in southern China, where the humidity is still very heavy. Although the locals will say that this is already the driest season of the year , but people from the north will still feel the humidity obviously. Therefore, when considering the topic of health and disease, it cannot be said that the whole country is the same. For example, this flu, North China and South China will have completely different syndromes, and the way of recuperation will be completely different.
So, today I will introduce to you a recipe for clearing away dampness and heat, Sanren Decoction.
The prescription of Sanren Decoction was created by Wu Jutong, a famous febrile disease scientist in the Qing Dynasty. I once wrote the story of this doctor. He was going to take the imperial examination, but because his old father was sick, the doctor’s treatment was ineffective. In the end, he didn’t even know what disease he was suffering from. The old man passed away. Wu Jutong hated himself He didn't understand medicine, and as a son, "what face is there to stand between heaven and earth?!" So he worked hard to study medicine and eventually became a generation of masters of traditional Chinese medicine. His life experience was relatively rough. If you are interested, you can read the Chinese medicine story I wrote. Today we will talk about this Sanren Decoction, which is used by him to treat the syndrome of dampness and temperature at the beginning, or the syndrome of summer heat and dampness, but the characteristic is that the syndrome is more humid than heat.
That is to say, this prescription can be used when suffering from exogenous diseases caused by damp heat, or when it shows the characteristics of damp heat. As for whether it is "dampness is heavier than heat", it is not so important, because if the heat is heavier, it can be solved by adding a little heat-clearing traditional Chinese medicine.
This is a prescription for treating dampness and heat. Everyone must be clear. For coldness and dampness, we have prescriptions such as Huoxiangzhengqi San, which are somewhat different.
So, what are the characteristics of damp heat?
First of all, it is the manifestation of exogenous pathogenesis. There will be symptoms of headache. At this time, the head will feel swollen, as if it is heavy, thinking clearly, the mind is not sharp, and it is very drowsy. This is the reason why damp and turbid qi are on the top, blinding the clear orifices and hindering the movement of qi.
Fear of cold and aversion to cold: like all exogenous pathogenic factors, there is a feeling of fear of cold, even in very warm weather, I also feel afraid of wind and cold.
Body pain, body fatigue: At this time, the body will feel particularly heavy, lack of energy, feeling lazy, and even muscle aches. Because the moisture blocks the passage of the meridians and permeates the triple burner, the air flow is not smooth, so the body is heavy.
Pale yellow complexion: At this time, the complexion is not the usual rosy, but will be light yellow, especially in some places with insufficient light or at certain angles.
Chest tightness without hunger: Loss of appetite, even feeling sick after eating, feeling full and stuffy in the abdomen. This is due to dampness trapping the spleen. The spleen is soil-dirty, and the soil itself restrains water. However, the flood of moisture is like a flood breaking through the embankment, so dampness heavily traps the spleen.
Body heat in the afternoon: Some patients have more severe fever in the afternoon, because at this time the yang energy begins to weaken and the interference of moisture begins to be obvious.
White, thick and greasy coating: Tongue appearance is the most important diagnostic method for diagnosing dampness and heat. For people with heavy humidity, the tongue coating is thick and greasy, covering the entire tongue, but there are also thin and white coatings that are not so thick and greasy. Therefore, the common The characteristic is that the tongue is covered with coating. At the same time, it will be water slippery. The so-called water slippery means that there is a lot of saliva on the tongue coating. If the fever is severe and the tongue coating will turn yellow, it is necessary to increase the heat-clearing medicine at this time.
Stringy and thin pulse with dampness: stringy pulse is due to poor qi movement and insufficient righteousness, while moist pulse reflects the characteristics of dampness and heaviness.
When the above symptoms appear, we are also combining the local weather. If you find that the surrounding is foggy and the water is heavy, you can strengthen your judgment based on the actual situation. In fact, I think it is very important to observe the surrounding environment. Many friends ask about doctors on Weibo. , In fact, patients who come from other places should also ask about the local climate at the time of the onset of the disease. This is very important diagnostic information, and everyone must understand it.
So, what kind of medicine is this Sanren Decoction composed of?
The general ingredients of Sanren Decoction are as follows: 15g each of almonds and pinellia, 18g each of flying talc, raw coix seed, 6g each of Baitongcao, Baikouren, bamboo leaves, and Magnolia officinalis.
The amount I use now is roughly like this: 9 grams of almonds, 18 grams of raw coix seed, 6 grams of white coix seed, 6 grams of French pinellia, 6 grams of Bai Tongcao, 6 grams of light bamboo leaves, and 3 grams of Magnolia officinalis. I usually don't add talc.
When this recipe is in use, I will mark the recipe like this:
9 grams of almonds (pounded), 18 grams of raw coix seed, 6 grams of white coix seed (pounded), French Pinellia, Baitongcao, 6 grams of light bamboo leaves, and 3 grams of Magnolia officinalis.
Wu Jutong's method of boiling medicine is to boil eight bowls of water, and boil the remaining three bowls. Take three bowls a day, one bowl at a time.
We can do this today, boil the pot on high heat, simmer for half an hour on low heat, add almonds and white kohlrabi 15 minutes before turning off the heat, and turn off the heat after 15 minutes.
The characteristic of this prescription is to unblock the triple energizers. It adopts the method of separating and eliminating the triple energizers, dispersing upward, smoothing the middle, and infiltrating downward. The focus is on the lung meridian, because the lung governs the qi of the whole body, and the lung is the source of water. Open, all the water vapor in the body will be melted. Therefore, the most important drug in the prescription is almonds. Almonds can benefit the lung qi in the upper energizer, and when the qi moves, it will humidify; while the aroma of white coriander kernels can detoxify dampness, act on the middle energizer, invigorate the qi of the spleen and stomach, move qi broadly, and pass through the middle energizer smoothly. It dispels dampness by dispelling the temper; coix seed is sweet and light in nature, cold in nature, oozes dampness and diuresis and invigorates the spleen, and makes damp heat go away from the lower burnt body. This is the three benevolences mentioned in the name of the prescription. The three benevolences are used together, and the three energizers are separated and eliminated, and they are used together as the monarch medicine. Talc, Tongcao, and bamboo leaves are sweet and cold, and they strengthen the power of the monarch medicine for promoting dampness and clearing heat, especially bamboo leaves. On the basis of the previous medicines, they are used to clear away heat evils. After the moisture is removed, heat evils are easier to clear , so it can be combined with a little bamboo leaves. If the heat is severe, we usually add other medicines such as forsythia and double flower. In the prescription, pinellia and magnolia officinalis promote qi and transform dampness, dissipate stagnation and remove fullness.
The formula of Sanren Decoction embodies the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine, that is, when the human body is heavily damp, causing infection with exogenous evils and fever, we do not focus on how to kill the exogenous evils, but devote ourselves to it. Remove moisture, when the moisture is removed, the living conditions of external evils are destroyed, so it is difficult to survive. This is like the moisture in our body, whether it is caused by external or internal factors, in short, more and more, and finally forms a bridge through which external evils enter our body. At this time, we are not standing at the head of the bridge To eliminate the external evil, but to dismantle the bridge, so that the external evil cannot enter.
When this prescription is applied, as long as it is indeed a hot and humid situation, the effect will be immediate. I have seen such an old man who lived in the intensive care unit. He was rescued for lung disease and had a persistent high fever. He was dripped with the top antibiotics in western medicine for more than 20 days, but it didn’t work. Because the top antibiotics had already been used, there was nothing left. The medicine can be used, so the medicine is stopped and the treatment is given up. At that time, my family members asked me for my opinion. I saw that the old man’s tongue coating was very thick, and he said that it was just right to stop the drip in Western medicine. We can use the method of dispelling dampness, so I introduced them to use Sanren Decoction, adding Shuanghua and Forsythia. As a result, the fever was reduced after three doses of medicine, and another three doses were used to consolidate the curative effect, and there was no problem.
In such a situation, every Chinese medicine doctor will say a lot. In fact, the biggest significance of this prescription is to give us a way of thinking. In this way of thinking, there are many medicines to choose from, so Chinese medicine practitioners will treat it according to the actual situation. , to choose the drug.
Sometimes, when the stagnation of dampness is serious and the tongue coating is thick and greasy, I will add 6 grams of Huoxiang and 6 grams of Peilan, which are fragrant and detoxifying, and the effect is better.
After learning this prescription, we must also understand that in fact, moisture comes from outside, but the reason why it can enter the body is caused by the lack of righteousness and the deficiency of temper, while the internal moisture is It is related to your usual fat, sweet and delicious food, and your tired diet. Therefore, for people living in the south, it is very important to replenish righteousness and remove dampness in time. I remember that when I was in Singapore, almost every restaurant I went to had barley drink, which seemed to be the most common drink. It was used to remove heat and humidity. I feel very sorry that we did not turn this into a product.
In addition, regular consumption of some aromatic foods, such as kumquat, bergamot, orange peel products, etc., also has the benefit of dispelling dampness, while red beans, winter melon and other foods also have the effect of dispelling dampness, so they can be used at ordinary times. Participating in sports can regulate the meridians, expel moisture, and improve righteousness, which is also a very good way to remove dampness.
However, it must be made clear that if it is a cold snap and cold dampness is infested, leading to symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, we cannot use Sanren Decoction, because it contains heat-clearing ingredients. Relevant knowledge, we will introduce to you later.
