Guizhi Decoction for the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is very common in our lives, but we know few treatments. Western medicine mostly uses physical methods and western medicine to treat rhinitis, but it can be said that the effect is not obvious. But it is not that there is no cure. There are many ancient books of Chinese medicine in my country that contain prescriptions for treating rhinitis, and many patients have seen effective results or even recovered. Now we often use Guizhi Decoction to treat rhinitis.

Symptoms of allergic rhinitis

Symptoms of allergic rhinitis include itching in the nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, clear runny nose, and stuffy head. The disease has a long course and recurrent attacks. The author often uses Guizhi Decoction with added ingredients to treat it, with satisfactory results.

1. Prescription of Guizhi Decoction

Prescription: 9 grams of cinnamon twig, 15 grams of stir-fried white peony root, 5 grams of roasted licorice, 3 slices of ginger, 5 dates, 12 grams of scutellaria baicalensis seed, and 9 grams of cicada shell. Decoction in water, one dose per day. After 5 to 10 doses, significant effects may be seen or the disease may be cured.

Principles of TCM Treatment

Allergic rhinitis is also known as allergic rhinitis, which is called "nasal sinusitis" in traditional Chinese medicine. The pathogenesis is mostly due to wind-cold or wind-heat evil qi attacking the lungs, causing heat stagnation in the lung meridian, and lung deficiency and imbalance of defensive qi can be seen. Guizhi Decoction harmonizes the Ying and Wei systems, and adds two ingredients, scutellaria baicalensis and cicada shell. Scutellaria baicalensis enters the lung and bladder meridians, and can dispel phlegm, promote the flow of water, and calm asthma; cicada shell enters the lung and liver meridians, and is light in nature, and has the functions of opening the lungs and calming the liver, dispersing wind and clearing heat, and extinguishing wind and calming convulsions. The two medicines, one ascending and one descending, can harmonize the Ying and Wei, and the symptoms can be cured.

Most allergic rhinitis is prone to recurrence or aggravation, which is mainly related to insufficient Yang Qi. According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, the lungs open up to the nose. Poor qi flow will cause nasal obstruction, which will lead to nasal congestion and headaches. Lung metal produces kidney water, and the kidneys can directly feel the cold and warmth in the lungs. Kidney yang is the foundation of the body's yang energy and the key to the body's cold and heat regulation. Therefore, once the yang energy is insufficient, it is difficult to resist the cold, and lung cold will occur, followed by nasal symptoms.

Recommended treatments:

Guizhi Decoction can dispel exogenous wind-cold. Its main ingredients include cinnamon twig, white peony root, ginger, jujube, licorice, astragalus, atractylodes, and saposhnikovia divaricata. Among them, cinnamon twig can warm the yang, while astragalus can replenish qi. But one thing that should be noted is that Guizhi Decoction generally needs to be taken for a long time for the conditioning to be effective. If the patient can persist in using this decoction for 3 to 5 years, the patient's physical condition will be significantly improved to varying degrees.