Can Chinese medicine be taken cold?

Everyone should know that when undergoing traditional Chinese medicine treatment, there are certain requirements for taking Chinese herbal medicine. In life, many people think that Chinese herbal medicine needs to be drunk while hot so that the efficacy will be better. If the Chinese medicine is cold, it will affect the medicinal effect. So, can Chinese medicine be drunk cold? This is something that many people in life want to know clearly. Let us follow the experts to learn about it in detail.

Traditional Chinese medicine theory is very particular about the temperature of oral decoctions. There are more than ten ways of taking the medicine, and there are three specific temperatures for the medicine: warm, hot, and cold.

Generally, Chinese herbal decoctions should be taken “warm”, that is, the decoction should be filtered out immediately after being boiled. Allow to cool to 30℃~37℃ at room temperature before drinking; Chinese patent medicines in the form of pills and powders should be taken with warm water. This is also a kind of warm medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine that dispels wind and cold should be taken hot, and you can eat some hot porridge or hot water after taking it to help the medicine work. However, detoxifying and heat-clearing medicines, especially traditional Chinese medicines for relieving summer heat, are more effective when taken cold.

In the south, people often take some "cold tea" in summer, which is actually a kind of Chinese medicine. As the name suggests, many herbal teas are best drunk after they have cooled down, as they are more effective in cooling down and relieving heat.

Regarding taking Chinese medicine, generally speaking, medicine for treating fever can be taken cold, while medicine for treating cold should be taken hot. Patients can control the temperature of taking medicine according to their own situation. Patients with "yang disease" often show symptoms of heat, including fever all over the body, thirst, dry stool, short and yellow urine, mouth and tongue ulcers, red tongue, yellow tongue coating, and rapid pulse; while "yin disease" often shows symptoms of cold, including chills and fever, no sweating, cold and painful abdomen, cold limbs and lethargy, diarrhea, edema, pale tongue, and thin white coating.

There is a little trick in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. Generally speaking, most of those called "soup" are taken hot, while most of those called "drink" need to be taken cold. Because in ancient Chinese, the words "soup" and "drink" have different temperatures. However, to be cautious, it is best for patients to ask the Chinese medicine practitioner about the relevant instructions for taking the medicine after the prescription is given to prevent deviations.

In fact, some Chinese medicines need to be cooled before drinking.

Regarding the answer to the question of whether Chinese medicine can be taken cold, the experts have given you a detailed introduction here. I believe that now everyone should have understood that not all Chinese medicines need to be taken while hot to be most effective. In fact, some Chinese herbal medicines need to be cooled before being taken. I hope the above introduction can help more patients and friends.