How long should I boil Chinese medicine?

When we take Chinese medicine, we usually decoct it at home. If the decoction method is correct, we can make the medicine work at its best. If the decoction method is incorrect, it will not only affect the medicine effect, but also affect the treatment effect. So when decocting medicine, we must not only pay attention to the heat, but also pay attention to the decoction time. So how long should the Chinese medicine be decocted? Let's find out below.

After the medicine is put into the pot, soak it in cold water for half an hour so that the effective ingredients of the medicine can be easily decocted. Pay attention to the amount of water added. Generally, the water should be slightly higher than the surface of the medicine. Medicines for treating edema should add less water; medicines for children should use less water, and more water can be added for diaphoretic medicines. Add enough water at one time, do not add cold water in the middle, and do not use boiling water to boil the medicine, so as to avoid denaturation of the protein on the surface of the medicine and affect the precipitation of the effective ingredients. When decocting Chinese herbal medicine, it is best to cover the pot to ensure that the medicine is decocted thoroughly. Especially for Chinese herbal medicines containing volatile ingredients, such as mint, perilla leaf, patchouli, and perilla, they must be covered and decocted in a short time to reduce the volatilization of effective ingredients. Some precious medicines, such as ginseng and deer antler, must also be covered and decocted over low heat. You need to control the heat well when decocting medicine. Generally, use high heat before boiling and low heat after boiling. For example, for antipyretic and diaphoretic drugs, boil them over high heat for 3 to 5 minutes; for tonic drugs such as Rehmannia glutinosa and Cornus officinalis, it is better to use low heat to decoct them, and then simmer for about 20 minutes after boiling. In addition, when decocting villus drugs and powders, it is advisable to wrap them in cloth and put them into the pot to reduce the irritation of the villus to the throat. For special medicines prescribed, you must follow the doctor's instructions whether to decoct them first, decoct them later, take them with water, or decoct them in a package, etc.

You need to know how to take it. There is a saying about Chinese herbal medicine that it can be taken “cold” or “hot”, and there are also certain requirements for the time of taking the medicine. Antipyretic drugs should generally be taken warm in order to achieve the purpose of sweating; anti-cold drugs should also be taken hot; detoxifying drugs, cough suppressants, and heat-clearing drugs should be taken cold; tonic drugs should be taken warm on an empty stomach for easy digestion and absorption, but the dosage should not be too much; sedatives should be taken half an hour before bedtime to enhance the effect of the drug.

Through the above introduction, we now know how long it takes to decoct Chinese medicine. We must master these techniques when decocting the medicine, especially the amount of decocted medicine, which cannot be too much or too little. This will be beneficial when we drink it. The medicinal properties of each Chinese medicine are different, and the methods of taking and decocting are also different.