What does Chinese herbal medicine mainly treat?

The main reason why Chinese medicine is so popular nowadays is that Chinese medicine is relatively mild in nature, with treatment as the main focus and conditioning as the secondary focus, while Western medicine has strong medicinal properties and may bring side effects while treating diseases. Therefore, many people will choose traditional Chinese medicine after they are sick. So what kind of diseases do the traditional Chinese medicine liquids commonly used by traditional Chinese medicine treat? What should we pay attention to when taking traditional Chinese medicine?

What does Chinese medicine mainly treat?

It depends on the specific physical condition of the patient. Generally speaking, Chinese herbal decoctions are mainly used to treat heat symptoms and pain caused by imbalance of cold and heat in patients, deficiency of yin and yang, invasion of external evils, etc. Specifically, in terms of the human body, they are internal diseases such as liver disease, kidney disease, lung disease, as well as bone hyperplasia, sciatica, psoriasis, etc.

Should I take Chinese medicine before or after meals?

Take on an empty stomach

Also known as taking medicine at dawn, it means taking the medicine in the morning before eating. Decoctions with tonic effects should be taken on an empty stomach in the morning to facilitate full absorption. Drugs used to deworm or treat limb blood vessel diseases should also be taken on an empty stomach, so that the drugs can enter the intestines quickly and maintain a high concentration to quickly exert their effects. The same is true for decoctions with laxative effects to enhance the efficacy.

Take before meals

Generally, take the medicine 30 to 60 minutes before meals. If the disease is located in the lower part of the body, the medicine should be taken before meals so that the medicinal properties can be easily delivered to the lower part of the body, such as liver and kidney deficiency or diseases below the waist. For the treatment of intestinal diseases, it is also advisable to take medicine before meals. Because, when the stomach is empty, the drug solution can directly contact the gastrointestinal mucosa and pass through the stomach into the intestine more quickly, so that more of it can be absorbed and take effect, without being diluted by food in the stomach and affecting its efficacy.

Take after meal

Generally, take the medicine 15 to 30 minutes after a meal. If the disease is located in the upper part of the body, the medicine should be taken after meals. If you are treating diseases related to the heart, lungs, chest, diaphragm, or stomach, you should take the medicine after meals to allow the medicinal properties to move upward. Taking drugs that are irritating to the gastrointestinal tract after meals can reduce damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa.

Take before bed

It is usually taken 15 to 30 minutes before bedtime. Drugs that nourish the heart and spleen, calm the mind, and induce sleep can be taken at this time. In addition, some western medicines such as hypnotics, anthelmintics and anti-allergic drugs should generally be taken half an hour before going to bed at night.

The time of taking Chinese medicine is very important, but what is the best temperature to take Chinese medicine? "Drink it while it's hot" is the habit of most people. Many people are afraid that keeping Chinese medicine for a long time will affect its efficacy. In fact, you don’t have to take medicine while it’s hot. Generally, Chinese medicine should be cooled to 40°C at room temperature before taking it. This will maximize its medicinal effect and minimize irritation to the stomach and intestines.