“Professor, how should I make this Chinese medicine?” In the clinic, we often encounter patients who ask her about the decoction method with their medicine. How to boil Chinese medicine to get the fullest effect of the medicine, this is often a confusing problem for patients. Boiling medicine does require some small skills, never a pot of boiling on the line. What is the right way to cook Chinese medicine? Preparation 1. Choose the utensil The best choice for decocting Chinese medicine is to use a casserole or enamel pot, followed by a stainless steel pot, not a metal utensil such as an iron pot or aluminum pot, to avoid chemical reactions that could affect the efficacy. 2. Soak in cold water Place the drug in a vessel and soak in cold water for about 30 minutes, with the amount of water generally exceeding the surface of the drug by 3-5 cm. If the roots, ores, herbs, can extend the soaking time; flowers, herbs, or decoction time is longer to add or reduce the amount of water. The water should be added at once, but not in the middle of the decoction or when the decoction is dry. Decoction process 1, fire control Decoction fire has “martial fire” and “civil fire”. The nature of the drug is different, the choice of fire is also different. Usually, for the treatment of exopathic diseases, it is appropriate to use martial fire to decoct urgently; for tonic and tonifying herbs, the decoction time should be extended, and it is appropriate to decoct for a long time with a “gentle fire”; for herbs with more toxic side effects, such as sapodilla and aconite, it is appropriate to decoct for a long time with a “slow fire” to reduce their toxicity. 2, boiling time A dose of medicine is usually decocted twice, usually 20-30 minutes for the first decoction and 15-20 minutes for the second decoction. The first decoction is 15-20 minutes and the second decoction is 10-15 minutes; the first decoction is 40-60 minutes and the second decoction is 20-40 minutes for tonic drugs. 3.Dosage of medicinal juice The amount of 150~200ml of decoction is appropriate. The dosage for children should be reduced to 50~100ml. Special decoction method 1.First decoction Some herbal medicines with hard texture and not easy to decoct the active ingredients should be decocted for 30-40 minutes first, then mixed with other medicines and decocted, such as tortoise board, dragon bone, oyster, etc. 2. After decocting, drugs that are aromatic and contain volatile oil or will destroy the active ingredients if heated for a long time should be put into the pot 5-10 minutes before other drugs are decocted, such as peppermint, sand, etc. 3.Melting After other drugs are decocted and dregs are removed, the juice is filtered, and then the melted drugs are added to the juice, heated over low heat and stirred until completely dissolved, such as gum. 4.Wrap decoction Seeds, pollen and fluffy drugs need to be wrapped in gauze bag and put into the group of drugs for decoction, in order to avoid sticking to the pot and paste and fluffy hairs coming off and mixing into the soup to irritate the throat, such as scape seeds, spineflower, talcum powder, etc. (The above 4 types are special decoction methods commonly used, so if your doctor has special instructions, you should follow the doctor’s orders.) Dosing time Usually mix two decoctions and take them in two doses with an interval of about 4~6 hours. It is also possible to decoct once and take once. Tonic medicines should be taken before meals, laxative medicines should be taken on an empty stomach, medicines that stimulate the stomach and intestines should be taken after meals, chronic diseases should be taken at regular intervals, and some sedative and tranquilizing medicines that help you sleep should be taken before bedtime. Whether before or after meals, there should be an interval of 30 to 60 minutes to avoid affecting the effectiveness of the drug. The specific time and number of doses should follow medical advice.