Can you use Xiao Chai Hu Tang for bile reflux?

Bile reflux can be treated with Xiao Chaihu Tang. Xiao Chaihu Tang is a Chinese herbal remedy from the Treatise on Typhoid Fever. It is a conciliatory agent. The main components are Chaihu, Scutellaria baicalensis, Ginseng, Semixia, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Ginger, Jujubes and so on. It has the function of conciliating Shaoyang (treating exogenous heat illnesses in which the evil is between half-expression and half-li). Bile reflux is often caused by depression or sudden mental stimulation, which affects the liver’s function of detoxification, and detoxification disorders cause stagnation of qi in the body, resulting in poor qi and blood circulation, and the liver and gallbladder act as an interface with each other, and the gallbladder’s function of storing and excreting bile is abnormal, resulting in bile reflux symptoms. Therefore, Xiao Chai Hu Tang can be used to treat bile reflux by dredging the liver, inducing bile and harmonizing the stomach. Xiao Chaihu Tang has a number of additions and subtractions, which can be added or subtracted according to the patient’s symptoms. For example, if there is pain in the abdomen, remove Scutellaria baicalensis, and add Paeoniae alba to soften the liver and ease the pain (to alleviate urgent pain); if there is irritation in the chest without vomiting, remove Semixia and Ginseng, and add Guaralou to clear heat and regulate qi, so as to relax the chest, etc. The additions and subtractions should be done under the guidance of a Chinese medicine practitioner. Because of the ascending and dispersing nature of Chai Hu in the formula, and the dry nature of Scutellaria and Xia, it is forbidden for those with deficiency of Yin and blood. Patients should choose light and easy-to-digest food in their diet and avoid spicy and stimulating food. Quit smoking and alcohol and other bad habits, so as not to affect the recovery of the disease. Xiao Chaihu Tang should be used under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine, and should not be used blindly on its own, so as not to delay the condition.