Is it good to use Chinese medicine without decoction?

The fast-paced life has made people lose their patience. Sitting by the stove to decoct Chinese medicine has become a thing of the past. Modern people often take Chinese medicine by decocting it on behalf of others or directly using formula granules. However, these are not as good as decocting the medicine by yourself. The effect of taking the Chinese medicine decocted by yourself is also improved. However, many people still choose some traditional Chinese medicines that do not require decoction for convenience. So, are traditional Chinese medicines that do not require decoction good? What should we pay attention to?

The decoction method directly affects the efficacy

With the quickening pace of life, some people who believe in traditional Chinese medicine can no longer adapt to spending several hours every day sitting by the stove to boil medicine. They need to find a more convenient and quicker way to solve this problem. This has given rise to emerging industries, such as decocting Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine formula granules. Taking our hospital as an example, there are about 4,000 prescriptions of Chinese medicine in outpatient clinics every day, of which nearly 600 are for decoction, accounting for 15%; nearly 500 are for Chinese medicine granules, accounting for 12.5%; almost all patients who choose decoction of Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine formula granules do so because they do not have time to boil the medicine or do not know how to boil it, and they just want convenience and speed. So while choosing a convenient and fast method, do you have concerns about its efficacy? The answer is yes.

Decoction and formula granules are more popular

Simply put, decocting Chinese medicine on behalf of others means using a medicine decocting machine to decoct the medicine at one time and then packaging it into small bags for patients to take every day. The most commonly used ones are the closed high-pressure decoction machines. This type of decoction machine decocts medicine under high-pressure and closed conditions. The medicine is decocted at high temperature and high pressure and the equipment's own extrusion device is used to extrude and package the medicine liquid. The decocted Chinese medicine can be stored at room temperature for 7 to 30 days. However, this type of medicine decoction machine is airtight and cannot be interrupted at will, so it cannot handle medicines that need to be decocted first and then added and melted. The most advanced medicine decoction machine on the market is the two-decoction medicine decoction machine.

The decoction machine and granule preparation are convenient for carrying and taking, which has promoted the application of Chinese herbal medicines to a certain extent, which is a good thing. However, from the perspective of efficacy, it is better to choose self-decocted Chinese medicine when treating difficult and critical diseases. If you are working or on a business trip for a short period of time, you can choose some Chinese medicine that does not require decoction, and it will not have any impact.