Chinese herbal soup is one of the most commonly used dosage forms in Chinese medicine, because it is fast absorbing, easy to exert therapeutic effects, and easy to add or subtract applications, so it can be comprehensively and flexibly adapted to various diseases. However, if the decoction method is improper and the method of taking medicine is not scientific, the therapeutic effect of the medicine will also be affected. In order to give full play to the therapeutic effects of herbal tonics and avoid the occurrence of adverse reactions, this article provides a detailed introduction to the containers, times, temperature, remedies, contraindications and precautions to be taken after decoction, in order to facilitate your mastery. Before decocting, it is best to use earthenware, casserole, enamel, stainless steel, but avoid using aluminum, iron, copper, grease and other metal utensils. Iron can react with the tannin, oil, alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins and their glycosides in the herbs, which can have adverse effects on the human body after taking them. Do Chinese herbs need to be cleaned? This is a question that many people have. Although many Chinese herbal medicines may look a bit gray and black on the surface, they are actually processed and prepared before they are sold, so there is no need to clean them before decoction. If you really feel that the herbs are a bit muddy, you can rinse them quickly with water, but do not dip them to avoid losing some water-soluble ingredients and losing some fine seeds (such as psyllium). Do I need to soak before decocting? The washing step cannot soak herbs, but a process of soaking herbs is required before decoction. Soaking herbs in cool water for about half an hour before decoction (the soaking time should not exceed 1 hour, especially in summer, too long soaking time will easily cause acidity) can make the water-soluble ingredients analyze in the soup and also increase the concentration of the soup. In winter, you can use 20-30 degrees warm water to shorten the decoction time, but do not use boiling water to avoid heat coagulation of proteins in some plant cells or the formation of colloids of some macromolecules, which is not conducive to the precipitation of active ingredients. How much water is needed for decoction? The traditional “3 bowls of water into 1 bowl” is actually not a scientific standard. Because of the different prescriptions, the amount of taste and size of the medicine varies, and the amount of water absorbed by different herbs also varies. If someone is really boiling medicine, while constantly pouring the juice back and forth, as the standard for boiling Chinese medicine, such a blind toss is actually not possible to boil the best effect of Chinese medicine. It should be better to dip the water through the herbs surface 2-3cm, or gently hold down the herbs with your hand, the water surface just diffuse over the back of your hand. Instead of mechanically boiling the medicine in 3 bowls of water. Usually some flowers and herbs absorb more water, and after half an hour of soaking the water level drops, you can add another cool water to the standard water level and start decocting again. What kind of fire should be used for decocting Chinese medicine? When decocting Chinese medicine, it is better to use rapid fire before the liquid boils, and after boiling, change to civil fire to prevent the Chinese medicine from boiling dry quickly and the active ingredients in the medicine from dissolving and affecting the efficacy. When decocting, it is best to stir frequently so that the herbal solution can be decocted well and thoroughly. The time for decocting the medicine for clearing heat and relieving the symptoms should not be too long, usually 20-30 minutes after the first decoction, and 15 minutes after the second and third decoctions. For tonic medicines, a long decoction with slow fire is recommended, about 40-60 minutes. Many elderly people are accustomed to decocting a pair of herbs three or four times. Generally speaking, after decocting a pair of herbs twice, the active ingredients are greatly reduced, so it is better to decoct them twice. However, for tonic herbs, the decoction can be made three times. For some prescriptions with larger quantity of medicine, they can be decocted three times. How to decoct valuable medicines? Precious herbs such as ginseng, American ginseng, cordyceps and lingzhi should be decocted separately and for a longer time, about one hour. How to handle the decoction and what are the precautions? 1. The decoction is best filtered through a sieve, and each decoction is 50-200mls large, mixed and taken in portions. If the medicinal solution is too much, the mixed solution can be decocted again and concentrated before taking. Never take decocted herbal medicine with paste. When the room temperature is high, pay attention to the decoction of Chinese medicine soup is also easy to become rancid and deteriorate. In addition, the bowl and cup used for taking medicine should be cleaned in time. 2.After each decoction, clean the pot immediately. 3. In pharmaceuticals, all medicines with “first decoction”, “second decoction”, “dissolve”, “punch” and “cloth bag” should be cleaned. The medicine of “cloth bag” should pay special attention to the distinction between shells (such as sea clams, raw oysters, etc.), ores (such as raw gypsum, raw oysters, etc.), toxic drugs (such as Sichuan birds, grass wool ……), etc., need to be decocted first for 10-15 minutes, and then into other drugs; aromatic smell The aromatic smelling drugs (such as sand, pelargonium, etc.) should be put in 5-15 minutes before other drugs are decocted; the easily dissolved drugs (such as gum, deer horn gum, etc.) should be decocted in solution or steamed in water; the punching drugs (such as Panax ginseng powder, ice chips, etc.) can be served with the decocted solution; the package decocted drugs (such as Fritillaria, psyllium, etc.) should be wrapped in cloth and put into the pot with the decoction. How to take the soup? If there is no special medical advice, it is better to take it orally 2 times (morning and evening) or 3 times (morning, midday and evening) daily, with 3 times being more effective. The soup after three decoctions can still contain about 20% of the active ingredients. Taking it 3 times a day helps to maintain a certain level of drug concentration in the blood. Some drugs have a stimulating effect on the stomach and intestines, so it is best to take them half an hour to one hour after a meal, or intermittently several times after a meal. Why should we not ignore the importance of “medicine introduction”? There are many Chinese medicines that are more suitable to be taken with a “medicine guide”. The “medicine introduction” is helpful to guide other medicines to reach the disease, so that the Chinese medicine can play a more full role. It can be taken with water, and is suitable for the treatment of cough with lung heat, cough with yin deficiency and habitual constipation. It can harmonize all the medicines, play a coordinating role and reduce the stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract by ores and shellfish which are difficult to digest and absorb; ginger broth: “Promoting lung qi and relieving depression and regulating the middle, opening the appetite and opening phlegm and lowering food”, which can harmonize and stop vomiting, warm the middle and dispel dampness, suitable for herbs with functions of treating wind-cold symptoms, lung deficiency, cough and asthma, spleen and stomach deficiency, vomiting and erosion. Ginger 3-5 slices decocted in water to take soup; Jujube soup: sweet in taste and beneficial to the spleen, benefiting the qi and nourishing the blood, moderating the medicinal properties, detoxifying, generating fluid, stopping diarrhea, tonifying the spleen and stomach, and enhancing the function of the spleen and stomach. It is suitable for herbs with the function of treating weakness of the spleen and stomach and deficiency of middle energy. 5-10 jujubes decocted in water to obtain soup; Warm yellow wine: it can increase the potency of the medicine because the active ingredients of some drugs are wine soluble ingredients. Is it right to say that Chinese medicines have no toxic side effects? It is popular to say that Chinese medicines have no toxic side effects. In fact, all “medicines” have certain side effects. Some toxic herbs, such as Lei Gong Vine, Mu Fang Xie, Fish Guts, Guan Mu Tong, Xiao Xin, Cao Wu, Petunia, etc., have traditionally caused nephrotoxic reactions when applied for a long time or taken in excess. Recently, it was reported that clinical observation of 54 cases of kidney injury caused by herbal medicines revealed that some patients had different degrees of polyuria, nocturia, dehydration, irritability, nausea and vomiting, weakness or edema, oliguria or anuria, mild proteinuria, tubuluria, hematuria, diabetes, hypertension and other symptoms. Studies have shown that aristolochic acid contained in Guanmu Tong and Hsiang Hsiang can cause renal tubular lesions. Therefore, the toxic side effects of proprietary Chinese medicines should not be taken lightly. Is there a course of treatment for Chinese medicine? Chinese medicine does not have a strictly defined course of treatment like Western medicine. Generally speaking, the length of time to take Chinese medicine should be considered according to the theory of dialectical treatment of Chinese medicine, the stability or progress of the disease, as well as the response to the concurrent Western medical treatment and the patient’s tolerance level of Chinese medicine. Short ones can be taken for a few days, such as herbal treatment for nausea and vomiting during adjuvant chemotherapy to relieve digestive tract symptoms. Longer ones can be taken for several years, such as some tonic Chinese medicines during the patient’s recovery period, which can help prevent recurrence. It is clinically reported that patients with intestinal cancer can reduce recurrence by continuously fertilizing spleen-strengthening and heat-clearing herbs for 3-5 years at the postoperative side. It has been reported that the survival rate of patients with lung cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer can be increased by 5-10 years with long-term adjuvant application of Fu Zheng Chinese medicine. Can Chinese medicine be taken at the same time with western medicine? It is better not to take them at the same time, because the complex relationship between western medicine, Chinese medicine and proprietary Chinese medicine is difficult to determine, and it is necessary to strictly prevent antagonistic or synergistic effects after taking them, which may cause adverse reactions. In order for the drugs to be fully absorbed, it is customary to separate the time of taking Chinese and Western medicines. Is it possible to use beverages, tea, milk or soy milk as “medicine inducements” to deliver Chinese medicine? It is generally emphasized to use warm boiled water to deliver herbal medicines. Taking medicine with drinks or tea may reduce the effectiveness of the medicine. For example, the tannic acid contained in the water in tea and the alkaline herbal medicine will have a chemical reaction together, resulting in precipitation that will reduce the active ingredients and affect the efficacy of the medicine. “The method of decoction, the most appropriate deep talk, the effectiveness of the drug is not effective, all depends on this”, the previous people have accumulated a lot of experience in the decoction, taking medicine. The proper administration of Chinese medicine is related to the efficacy of treatment. With this knowledge, it is conducive to the communication between doctors and patients, and can also promote cooperation between doctors and patients.