First, the efficacy application
Ephedra is pungent, slightly bitter and warm. Enter lung meridian and bladder meridian.
Efficacy: sweating, relieving exterior syndrome, dispersing lung qi and relieving asthma, diuresis and detumescence. It is one of the most representative Chinese medicines in the "sweating method" of traditional Chinese medicine, and it is an important drug 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 nuclear syndrome, etc.
Although ephedra has three functions, they are actually interrelated. Ephedra is a commonly used drug for sweating, so it enters the lung meridian. Its nature is good at opening exterior and closing exterior and dispersing lung qi, so it is good at treating cough and asthma caused by wind-cold binding exterior and internal heat stagnation. The sun bladder meridian governs the whole body surface, the lung governs the fur, and also governs the whole body surface. Ephedra can disperse lung qi, sweat and body fluid, 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, it is also effective to watch it urinate.
There are so-called "eight methods" for treating diseases in traditional Chinese medicine, among which sweating method is the most difficult to master. Although there are many recipes for sweating, most of them are ephedra. Therefore, in a broad sense, if you want to learn the sweating method in the treatment of "eight methods" in traditional Chinese medicine, 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 and the sweating power is insufficient, the disease cannot be cured; Excessive dosage, excessive sweating, easy to hurt yin and blood, aggravate the condition. How to master the degree of sweating to achieve the purpose of treating diseases is actually the most difficult part of Chinese medicine.
Summary of famous works:
Classic: "main stroke, typhoid headache, warm malaria." Publish sweat, dispel pathogenic heat, relieve cough and reverse qi, dispel cold and heat, and break the disease. "
"Don't record": "thomas lee, untie the tendons."
Compendium of Materia Medica: "Ephedra is a special medicine for lung meridian, so it is often used to treat lung disease."
"Changsha Medicine Solution": "Ephedra sweating, very powerful. There is typhoid fever in winter, and the fur is blocked. Otherwise it can't penetrate the hair. When the water is wet and phlegm is exhausted, it overflows the meridians and joints, causing Huo Ran to sweat and lose his illness. "
Compendium of Materia Medica: "It is a special medicine for the lung family to enter the Taiyang bladder meridian, and it is also a medicine for the lung family. Sweat and relax muscles, dispel cold evil and prevent wind and heat. Regulate blood vessels, dredge nine orifices and open pores. Treat stroke, typhoid fever, headache, warm malaria, cough due to adverse qi, excessive phlegm, asthma, red and dark spots, rubella, skin and flesh, red eyes and swelling, edema and wind swelling. "
Second, compatibility and application.
1. Used for exogenous wind-cold, aversion to cold, fever, head and body pain, stuffy nose, anhidrosis and tight pulse. Ephedra is an important drug for sweating and relieving exterior syndrome, because it can spread lung qi, resolve phlegm and dispel cold. To treat the above syndrome, cassia twig, almond and licorice are often combined, that is, Mahuang decoction, the first prescription of sweating method in traditional Chinese medicine. But it's hard to sweat on this side. Now few people only use the original side, adding and subtracting too much, and then apply it after cutting. It is widely used in clinic and should be based on learning.
Treatise on Febrile Diseases: "Mahuang Decoction is mainly used for patients with solar diseases, headache, fever, body pain, low back pain, joint pain and aversion to wind without sweating."
Zhang Xichun said, "Ephedra is the main medicine for sweating. All the zang-fu organs and meridians in the whole body are airtight, and the outline of its treatment is to send out the cold of the sun one by one. "
2. 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. It is used for cough and asthma caused by exterior wind-cold and lung-qi deficiency. It is often used with almond and licorice, that is, San 'ao Decoction.
For cough and asthma caused by external cold and internal drinking, it is often combined with cassia twig, asarum herb, dried ginger and Schisandra chinensis. That is, Xiaoqinglong Decoction, the first prescription for phlegm in Treatise on Febrile Diseases.
For people with fever, high fever and dyspnea, it is often used with gypsum, almond and licorice, that is, Maxingshi dry soup.
3. Used for edema with exterior syndrome. Ephedra can not only open lung qi, sweat and relieve exterior syndrome, but also transport bladder meridian, dredge waterways, promote diuresis and reduce swelling. Bai Yue decoction is often used together with gypsum and ginger to treat edema caused by pathogenic wind attacking the exterior and lung failure. If the whole body is swollen and urination is unfavorable, Atractylodes macrocephala can be added, that is, Yuemai Fujiashu Decoction.
Zhang Xichun said: "For the syndrome of wind edema, treating Yuemai decoction in synopsis of the golden chamber, with ephedra as the main prescription, can dispel wind and promote diuresis. The clinical use of Yupingsu will lead to sweating, and its urine will be beneficial immediately and the swelling will disappear. "
4. Used for rheumatism, arthralgia, gangrene, phlegm and other diseases. Ephedra has the function of dispelling cold and dredging stagnation. Used to treat systemic pain caused by rheumatism, it is often combined with Coicis Semen, almond and licorice, namely Maxing Yigan Decoction.
For cold-dampness arthralgia, it is often combined with Radix Angelicae Dahuricae, Semen Persicae, Flos Carthami, Radix Paeoniae Rubra, Ramulus Cinnamomi and Asari. In order to play the role of warming meridians, activating collaterals, removing blood stasis and relieving pain, that is, Magui Wenjing Decoction.
If you treat yin gangrene, swelling without head, skin color unchanged, pain without heat, mouth without thirst, pale tongue with white fur, heavy or slow pulse; Or bone gangrene, gangrene, salivation, phlegm core, crane knee wind, etc. This product belongs to Yin-cold syndrome, and is often combined with Radix Rehmanniae Preparata, Cortex Cinnamomi, Colla cornus Cervi and Semen Sinapis Albae. , that is, Yanghe soup.
Stroke with symptoms such as unconsciousness, mouth-eye deviation, hemiplegia, speech disorder or rheumatalgia is often combined with Ji Fang, Ginseng, Cinnamon, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Radix Aconiti Lateralis and Scutellariae Radix. * * * plays the role of dispelling wind and cold, benefiting qi and rising yang, that is, Xiao Xu Tang Ming. This prescription is the most profound method of "opening the mysterious door" in traditional Chinese medicine, so scholars should understand it slowly and don't rush into it.
Three. dosage
Ephedra is often added into soup and pill powder. When using in large doses, it is advisable to fry the foam first.
In Treatise on Febrile Diseases, ephedra is required to "cut off festivals". In modern research, the composition of ephedra festival is the same as ephedra, but the content is less. In addition, the processing of knots is difficult, so the ephedra used today does not need to be knotted.
Ephedra can be divided into medicinal and medicinal, and is generally used for relieving exterior syndrome, relieving asthma and medicinal purposes.
The dosage of ephedra is directly related to the expected curative effect. If you only use a few grams, you can ventilate your lungs and regulate your qi. The usual dosage is more than10g, which can disperse lung, relieve asthma, induce diuresis and reduce swelling; If you want to warm your lungs and relieve hangover, you need to use a larger amount, usually more than ten grams or even dozens of grams.
The most difficult thing to master is the use of ephedra sweating prescription. Thinking about sweating therapy is an extremely complicated dynamic process, and Li Ke's experience in this respect is worth referring to. Plum blossoms can be used. When the dosage is large, it is often decocted separately, and the foam should be removed during decocting. When taking it, you should take a small amount, and increase or decrease the dosage flexibly according to the patient's reaction after taking it. If the condition of the drug is moderate and the purpose of sweating is achieved, the dosage of ephedra should be reduced to maintain or abandon. To prevent overcorrection and excessive sweating from hurting the vulva. The biggest advantage of this method is that it is flexible and safe, and it is worth learning. In addition, when Li uses a large dose of ephedra, it is often combined with cicada slough, ginkgo and other manufacturers' drugs to prevent patients from dizziness and other discomfort. Its internal mechanism and curative effect need to be further verified.
Lu Jiuzhi said: "Ephedra is a bit sweaty. The south can cure people, but the north can't." Warm air covers the south, people's skin is weak, and they sweat most easily, so there is a saying that ephedra is not rich in the south; If the north is beyond the Great Wall, the climate is cold and people's skin is strong and thick. If they go out to work and don't take shelter from the wind and frost, they can sweat like rain until they spend seven or eight dollars. The way husbands use drugs varies from time to time, from place to place and from person to person. He should be positive and considerate to overcome the disease, and should not be limited to prejudice. "
Wang Angyan said, "Use stem sweat to remove the knot, cook it for more than ten times, skim off the floating foam, or soak it in vinegar soup and dry it for later use." And honey speculators. "
Fourth, the application of attention.
Ephedra has strong sweating ability, so spontaneous sweating due to exterior deficiency, night sweats due to yin deficiency, asthma and cough due to renal failure should be avoided.
Broadly speaking, the contraindication of sweating method in traditional Chinese medicine 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. See Mahuang Decoction for details.
Modern application, patients with hypertension, heart disease, dehydration and hemorrhagic diseases should be used with caution.
-Notes on actual combat of TCM: 20. 1 1.5 nights.
# Practical Notes on Traditional Chinese Medicine #