The efficacy of bathing with mugwort and calamus

The Dragon Boat Festival is a national festival in my country. Due to its relatively early origin, there are many customs and habits that have been widely passed down to this day. It is understood that some people like to hang some mugwort or calamus leaves at their doors during the Dragon Boat Festival. Are there any special features of these two kinds of grass? Are there any effects?

Mugwort is a panacea, especially the external application of mugwort leaves has unique medical and health care effects.

Moxibustion can not only cure diseases, but also prolong life. For example, Sun Simiao, the King of Medicine in the Tang Dynasty, often used moxibustion on the Zusanli acupoint with mugwort leaves, and later lived to be over 100 years old. According to Chinese acupuncture, regular moxibustion of Zusanli, Qihai, navel (Shenjue) and other acupoints can promote yang and nourish essence, strengthen physical fitness, prevent diseases and maintain health. Modern scientific research has confirmed that moxa can regulate gastrointestinal motility, vasoconstriction, promote kidney metabolism, and has the effect of enhancing immunity. Even if the elderly are not sick, regular moxibustion of these health care points can have the effect of strengthening their physical fitness.

Mugwort leaves are often found on roadsides, in valleys, and in the wild. As the saying goes, "A home must have mugwort to keep men, women, young and old free from disease." It means that mugwort has the function of preventing diseases and maintaining health. There is a sentence in "Mencius Li Lou": "For a seven-year illness, seek three-year-old moxa." It means that for major diseases and serious illnesses, moxibustion treatment with moxa that is more than three years old will have a good practical effect. Ancient people paid attention to the fact that "the older the mugwort is, the better it is", so mugwort is also known as "aged mugwort". The moxibustion patch commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture also uses aged mugwort as the main raw material and is commonly used to treat cold symptoms, damp-cold pain syndrome, etc. According to traditional Chinese medicine, whether applied externally or taken orally, moxa has the effects of regulating blood qi, expelling dampness and cold, relaxing the meridians and relieving pain, and promoting blood circulation and nourishing the fetus. However, there are many external applications of mugwort. In addition to moxa, folk customs often use mugwort leaves alone for decoction, steaming and washing. Some people burn mugwort leaves for fumigation, saying that this can cure skin diseases or have the effect of removing insects and poisons.

Ancient people said that mugwort can "expel evil spirits", which means that it has the effect of preventing some infectious diseases. Modern research has found that moxa fumigation is a good way to sterilize and disinfect homes. Experiments have shown that using 1-5 grams/square meter of wormwood leaves for fumigation for 0.5-1 hour can kill 14 kinds of skin fungi to varying degrees, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus B, Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Salmonella typhi and paratyphoid, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (human form H37RV), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, etc. It also has a certain inhibitory effect on parainfluenza virus, rhinovirus, cold virus, herpes virus, etc. During the rainy season and the flu-prone season, if you fumigate the room 1-2 times a week, the number of various common pathogens, viruses and bacteria can be significantly reduced, which has a certain effect in preventing diseases.

In addition, the leaves of wormwood have a fragrant taste. If you use its infusion or wormwood oil to apply to the skin or smell it, in addition to the above-mentioned antibacterial and antiviral therapeutic effects, it can also have antiasthmatic, antitussive, expectorant, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects. Li Shizhen accumulated two valuable experiences in the use of moxa, which are worthy of emulation by future generations. Li said: "For the elderly with weak Dantian Qi and cold navel and abdomen, put cooked mugwort into a cloth bag, cover the navel and abdomen, and linger in the bag; for athlete's foot with dampness and cold, it is also advisable to put the bag inside the socks." There are many people in the world who use mugwort leaves to make mugwort pillows, mugwort bags and mugwort pads, and they are used in clinical medicine, which has been verified by many people.

Calamus removes dampness and relieves itching

Another common medicinal plant during the Dragon Boat Festival is calamus, which mostly grows in front of lakes and ponds. Because of its strong, pungent smell, some people call it "stinky cattail".

The air is cold and damp around the Dragon Boat Festival, mosquitoes breed, and a variety of factors can cause itching on the body. In folk customs, calamus is often used to boil water for fumigation and washing to treat skin diseases such as eczema and scabies. It has obvious effects in relieving itching, swelling and pain.

Method: 200 grams of calamus (double the amount for fresh ones), add 2000 ml of water, boil for about 10 minutes, remove the residue, filter the decoction, wait for it to cool, and use the decoction to fumigate or apply it to the wound repeatedly for 15 minutes when it is slightly cool. Do not rinse with tap water after washing, keep the medicine on the skin, generally 1 to 2 baths will relieve the itching. If you add a small amount of pepper decoction when washing, the effect will be better.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, calamus can remove dampness, strengthen the spleen and stomach, eliminate insects and relieve itching. The Tang Dynasty's "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "To treat scabies and itching, use water calamus, grind it into powder and mix with oil to apply." "Anhui Chinese Herbal Medicine" states: "To treat allergic dermatitis, apply white calamus powder and vinegar externally." Clinical application has proved that calamus decoction and washing are very effective in treating various recurrent skin itching. The causes of itching are complex, but itching caused by bacteria, bacterial infection, and skin allergies is the most common. Pharmacological studies have found that Acorus calamus contains ingredients such as β-asarone and camphor balls, which have extremely strong antibacterial specificity against 17 pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus infection, and Candida albicans. In addition, the calamus ingredient has a strong calming and soothing effect on the skin. The decoction can be used for fumigation and washing to treat itching caused by allergic dermatitis, eczema, urticaria (wheals), neurodermatitis, etc., with significant results. Experiments have also confirmed that the higher the concentration of calamus decoction, the better its anti-itching effect.