Gui Zhi has the effects of sweating and relieving the muscles (relieving the surface of the skin of evil qi), warming the meridians, and assisting yang in transforming qi. The effects are generally the same after frying.
Gui Zhi can be used to treat headache, fever, malignant cold (fear of cold), nasal congestion, and runny nose caused by external wind-cold. It can also be used in the treatment of pain in the joints of the shoulder and back, unfavorable flexion and extension, and numbness of the limbs caused by wind-cold and dampness, paralysis and blockage of the meridians.
As Gui Zhi has the effect of warming and circulating the heart channels, it can also be used in the treatment of chest paralysis (stuffy pain in the chest) and chest pain, as well as in the regulation of palpitations and pulse junction generation (discontinuous pulse beat with intermittent intervals in between). Gui Zhi also has the effect of warming the meridians, so it can also be used in the treatment of women’s dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea caused by cold and blood stasis.
Since the flavor of Gui Zhi is warm and hot, it tends to injure yin and move the blood, so it should not be used in feverish diseases as well as diseases with yin deficiency and hyperactivity of yang, and blood heat (heat evil causing the blood to go out abnormally). Pregnant women and those with excessive menstruation should be cautious in its use. Adverse reactions are not clear.
Patients are advised to consult a doctor if they feel unwell, and the specific use of the drug should be under the guidance of a doctor.