Ephedra, Cinnamon Twig, Almond and Licorice Decoction

Ephedra, cinnamon twig, almond, and licorice are all medicinal materials. They can be usually found in Chinese medicine stores. The soup made with ephedra, cinnamon twig, almond, and licorice can treat cold and fever, body pain, asthma, etc. Especially in the treatment of colds, viral influenza, bronchitis, asthma and other medicines can be seen in these ingredients, so how to cook this soup?

Rhyme

Ma Huang Tang contains cinnamon twig, apricot kernel and licorice, which can induce sweating, relieve exterior symptoms and promote lung qi. It is suitable for patients with typhoid fever with exterior excess and no sweating.

composition

Ephedra, cinnamon twig, almond, and licorice.

Dosage

Ephedra (without nodes) 9g, cinnamon twig (without skin) 6g, apricot kernel (without skin and tip) 6g, licorice (roasted) 3g.

usage

Take the above four ingredients, add 9 liters of water, boil the ephedra first, reduce to 2 liters, remove the foam, add other herbs, boil until 2.5 liters are left, remove the residue, and take 8 he of the liquid while warm. Cover and take it until you feel a slight sweat. No need to sip porridge. Rest of the time will be the same as the Guizhi method. Modern usage: decoct in water, cover with warm cloth to induce slight sweating.

function

It can induce sweating, relieve exterior symptoms, open up the lungs and relieve asthma.

Indications

Exogenous wind-cold syndrome. Chills and fever, headache and body pain, no sweat and wheezing, thin white tongue coating, and floating and tight pulse.

Fang Yi

This prescription is used for symptoms caused by exogenous wind-cold and failure of lung qi to flow freely. Evil wind and cold invade the skin surface, suppressing Wei Yang, blocking pores, stagnating Ying Yin, and obstructing meridians, resulting in aversion to cold, fever, no sweating, headache and body pain. The lung governs Qi, which belongs to Wei, and is connected to the skin and fur. Evil cold is bound to the skin, affecting the descending function of the lung Qi, which causes wheezing. A thin white tongue coating and a floating and tight pulse are both reflections of the wind-cold invading the skin. The treatment should be to induce sweating and relieve exterior symptoms, promote lung function and relieve asthma. The ephedra in the prescription is bitter, pungent and warm in nature. It enters the lung and bladder meridians, is good at opening the pores and inducing sweating, and removing wind and cold on the surface; it can open the lungs and relieve asthma, and open up the depressed lung qi. Therefore, it is used as the main medicine in this prescription. Since the syndrome of this prescription is Wei stagnation and Ying stagnation, using ephedra alone to induce sweating can only relieve the stagnation of Wei Qi. Therefore, cinnamon twig, which can penetrate the Ying and reach the Wei, is used as the assistant medicine to relieve muscles, release exterior, warm and unclog the meridians. It not only helps ephedra to relieve exterior symptoms and double the sweating power, but also promotes the circulation of Ying Yin and relieves the pain. The two medicines complement each other and are a commonly used combination of pungent and warm to induce sweating. Apricot kernel can descend and benefit the lung qi, and when used together with ephedra, one can descend and the other can restore the descending and ascending of the lung qi, and strengthen the function of descending and ascending the lung qi and relieving asthma. It is a commonly used combination for descending and ascending the lung qi, and serves as an adjuvant. Roasted licorice root can not only coordinate the descending and dispersing effects of hemp and apricot, but also alleviate the harshness of the combination of hemp and cinnamon, so that sweating will not be too intense and damage the vital energy. It can be used as both a guiding and adjuvant drug. The combination of the four medicines can dispel superficial cold, unblock the Ying and Wei, and promote the flow of lung qi, then all symptoms can be cured.

Compatibility characteristics

First, hemp and cinnamon complement each other, they can open the pores by releasing the blocked Wei Qi, penetrate the stagnation of the Ying Qi to promote the flow of Ying Yin, thus improving the effect of inducing sweat and relieving exterior symptoms; second, hemp and apricot work together, they can promote descending and promoting qi, thus improving the effect of promoting lung function and relieving asthma.

use

This prescription is a basic prescription for treating external wind-cold syndrome. In clinical application, the key points of diagnosis are aversion to cold and fever, wheezing without sweating, and floating and tight pulse.

Addition and subtraction

If there is shortness of breath, chest tightness, cough with a lot of sputum, but the external symptoms are not severe, remove the cinnamon twig and add perilla seed and pinellia to resolve phlegm, stop coughing and relieve asthma; if there is severe nasal congestion and runny nose, add Xanthium sibiricum and magnolia to dredge the nasal passages; if there is dampness and pain in the joints, add Atractylodes macrocephala and Coix seed to dispel wind and dampness; if there is irritability and dry mouth due to internal heat, add gypsum and scutellaria baicalensis to clear away the stagnant heat.