Is it better to make Chinese medicine yourself or in a hospital?

Chinese herbal decoction is still one of the main solutions for treating diseases and maintaining health. However, due to the long preparation time and strong smell, many patients do not have a stone pot for decocting Chinese medicine at home, which makes many people who want to use Chinese medicine treatment discouraged. Most of these patients who ask hospitals to decoct Chinese medicine for them are young people. They are busy at work and have no experience in decocting Chinese medicine. They think that "hospitals are more professional." So is it better to decoct the Chinese medicinal materials by yourself or in the hospital?

The boiling method of Chinese medicinal materials is very important. The water flow, order and cooking time of the boiling medicine will affect the efficacy of the medicine. Even if the symptomatic treatment is the most accurate, if the boiling is not appropriate, the efficacy of the medicine cannot be fully exerted. When we decoct Chinese medicine, it is best to use a stone pot, which will not easily destroy the efficacy of the medicine. The boiling time of Chinese medicinal materials should not be too long, as it will cause the ingredients in the materials to evaporate and reduce the medicinal effect.

When we go to the hospital to boil medicine, the basic principle of the Chinese medicine decoction machine generally used in the hospital clinic is to use ultra-high pressure to boil the Chinese medicinal materials in a short time and make them into disposable packages, which only need to be heated when eaten. When we make medicine at home, we need to soak the Chinese medicinal materials for about 20 minutes, and then put them into the stone pot to slowly boil the materials. Generally, we boil a bag of Chinese medicinal materials three times.

The soaking time and boiling time of Chinese medicinal materials in the hospital are relatively short, there is no distinction between pre-decocting and post-decocting, and there will be no extraction during the boiling process. The medicinal effect of Chinese medicinal materials is slightly weaker and the taste is light, but it saves time and is convenient. Compared with going to the hospital to make medicine, making it by yourself is more time-consuming and laborious, and it is more difficult to control the degree of maturity. But it is safe and cost-effective to cook your own food.

Precautions for self-cooking Chinese medicine

Lid: Generally, the lid should be tightly closed when decocting Chinese medicine at the beginning. When the water boils, you can use two wooden chopsticks to lift the lid, leaving some gap for the steam to discharge. Some Chinese medicinal materials contain volatile ingredients, such as mint, patchouli and other tonic medicines, as well as precious Chinese medicinal materials such as ginseng. In the process of decocting, as the ingredients are easy to release into the air, they must be simmered with the outer lid covered.

Soaking: Just like soaking soybeans before squeezing soy milk, before decocting Chinese medicinal materials, they must be soaked in cold water for 1-2 hours (except for medicines soaked in vinegar or wine), which takes 20 minutes. Tap water can be used to decoct Chinese medicine, and the water flow rate should be 1-3 cm above the surface of the Chinese medicine. If there are too many Chinese medicinal materials or they are easy to absorb moisture, the amount can be increased appropriately.

Degree of doneness: When decocting, first boil the medicine over low heat (i.e. high fire), then switch to low heat (i.e. low heat) and simmer.

Practical operation: When decocting Chinese medicine, pay attention to stirring the aromatics to ensure that the medicine is fully decocted. Each dose of Chinese medicinal materials is generally decocted twice, and the second time may be slightly shorter. Some medicines require different times, such as decocting first, adding later, or taking the medicine directly, etc. Chinese medicine practitioners will explain this clearly when you are handing out the medicine.