What are the effects and functions of Tongcao?

Traditional Chinese medicine has detailed records of the Chinese medicine Tongcao. It can not only regulate the body, but also has extremely high medicinal value. After being used as medicine, it has a good preventive and therapeutic effect on some diseases. Of course, everyone's health condition is different, so we cannot take Chinese medicine casually. Only by understanding the specific effects can we really prescribe the right medicine for the right condition. So what are the effects and functions of Tongcao?

"Compendium of Materia Medica" describes Tongcao as follows: Tongcao is white in color and cold in nature, light in taste and light in body, so it enters the Taiyin Lung Meridian, draws heat downward and facilitates urination; it enters the Yangming Stomach Meridian, promotes ventilation upward and brings down milk; its nature is cold, so it descends, and its taste is light, so it opens. It can be seen that Tongcao was discovered and taken as medicine a long time ago and has many medicinal values.

1. The main indications of Tongcao. Tongcao can clear away heat and promote diuresis, ventilate and promote lactation. It is used to treat red urine caused by damp heat, painful gonorrhea, edema and oliguria, lack of milk, amenorrhea and leucorrhea. Take 3 to 5 grams and decoct it. It is sweet and mild in nature, with a slight chill, and enters the lung and stomach meridians. It is used for internal accumulation of damp-heat, short and red urine, or painful and astringent urine. Because of its thin smell and slow and weak effect, it can be decocted with Akebia and Talcum. If it is used to treat damp-heat symptoms, it can be used together with cardamom, bamboo leaves, etc. If the milk is scarce, you can boil the tongcao with pig's trotters, licorice, etc.

2. If you have edema, you can use equal amounts of Tongcao and Muzhucao, grind them into powder, add a little bit of finely ground Tudilong and musk, decoct half a penny or one penny each time, and take it; if you have vomiting after typhoid fever, you can also use three taels of Tongcao, one liter of raw reed root, one tael of tangerine peel and three he of japonica rice, and boil it with five liters of water until two liters are left.

3. Tongcao can also treat nasal congestion. When you can't smell anything due to breath blockage, you can grind Tongcao, Asarum and Aconite into equal amounts, mix them with honey, wrap them in cloth and stuff them into the nose.

The above introduction has clearly explained the effects and functions of Tongcao. I hope it will be helpful to everyone. In fact, there are many common Chinese medicines in life, which have brought great help to people. Whether it is to regulate and nourish the body, or to prevent and treat some diseases, we need the doctor's advice and guidance.