How long should I take Chinese medicine before I stop taking it?

In daily life, many people who feel unwell choose Chinese herbal medicine for treatment. Do you know how long you should stop taking Chinese herbal medicine? What should you pay attention to when taking Chinese herbal medicine? When is the best time to take Chinese herbal medicine? How long do you have to drink it for it to be effective? Let's follow the editor to find out one by one.

How long should I take Chinese herbal medicine before I stop?

Chinese herbal medicines are also very effective in treating some diseases. For example, fever and colds can be significantly improved in two or three days. But for some chronic diseases, the treatment process will be somewhat complicated, whether it is Chinese or Western medicine.

If your disease requires long-term Chinese medicine treatment, and you feel it is bitter and painful to drink, you can drink it for three weeks a month, take a break for one week, and then continue to drink it.

1. Time to take Chinese herbal medicine

Tonics and stomachic and digestive medicines should be taken before meals to improve the digestibility of the drug ingredients. Spicy food and irritating medicines should be taken after meals to reduce irritation to the stomach. It is best to take insecticides or nematodes on an empty stomach to increase their effectiveness. When treating dengue fever, you must take the medicine before the onset of the disease. When using tranquilizers, you must take them before going to bed. Patients with acute diseases should stick to the time and take the medicine as early as possible.

2. Frequency of taking medicine

Generally, take the medicine 2 to 3 times a day. Those who want to maintain efficacy can change it to once a day. Some can take it several times a day or decoct it as tea, but they are not particular about the frequency.

3. Most Chinese herbal medicine decoctions are taken warm

Depending on the condition and treatment needs, some people choose cold food for heat syndrome, while others choose hot food for cold syndrome.

4. Selection of medicinal drinks

Generally, it is taken with warm water. For those who have difficulty taking medicine due to vomiting, you can drink ginger water and add white sugar or flavor enhancers to the medicine. Take blood stasis-removing and blood stasis-removing agents with rice wine to enhance the efficacy of the medicine.

5. Avoid eating

Generally, you should avoid eating cold, greasy, spicy food and other foods that are difficult to digest and absorb during the medication period. People with skin diseases and sores should avoid eating food that smells like river shrimps and other irritating foods.

Time to take Chinese medicine

1. Take before meals

Generally, take the medicine 30 to 60 minutes before meals. If the main symptom is in the lower part, the medicine should be taken before meals to make the drug effect easier to be delivered, such as kidney deficiency or diseases below the waist. For the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, it is also advisable to take medicine before meals, because when the stomach is empty, the medicine can directly come into contact with the digestive mucosa, quickly pass through the stomach into the intestines, and thus be more digested and absorbed and fully exerted, without being diluted by the food in the stomach and affecting the efficacy of the medicine.

2. Take after meal

Generally, take the medicine 15 to 30 minutes after a meal. If the main symptom is on the upper part, the medicine should be taken after meals. For example, if you are treating symptoms above the heart, lung, chest, or stomach, taking the medicine after a meal can increase its efficacy.

3. Eat on an empty stomach

Some medicines are not easy to take. Decoctions with nourishing and health-preserving effects should be taken on an empty stomach in the morning to facilitate adequate digestion and absorption. Medicines used to eliminate parasites or treat limb blood vessel diseases should also be taken on an empty stomach, which can allow the medicine to enter the intestines quickly and maintain a higher concentration to quickly exert its medicinal effect. The same is true for decoctions with laxative effects to enhance the efficacy of the medicine.

4. Before going to bed

It is usually taken 15 to 30 minutes before going to bed. Medicines that nourish the lungs and stomach, soothe the mind, calm the nerves and aid sleep, as well as those for food stagnation, chest diseases, etc.

Common problems with taking Chinese medicine

Taboos of taking Chinese medicine When taking Chinese medicine, in order not to affect the efficacy of the medicine, many taboos need to be paid attention to, such as not taking spicy and greasy foods. In fact, in addition to spicy and greasy foods, patients also have many things to pay attention to when taking Chinese medicine.

1. During the period of taking Chinese medicine, you must remember not to eat spicy food, such as fish, shrimp, crab and other seafood, as well as beef and other mutton-smelling food. Because these foods contain heterosexual proteins, they will dissipate the medicinal power and easily cause side effects such as skin allergies. This must be remembered.

2. Do not drink strong tea while taking Chinese medicine, because strong tea contains more tannic acid, which will reduce the efficacy of Chinese medicine. It is especially important to note that many people have the habit of eating donkey-hide gelatin and white fungus. Donkey-hide gelatin and white fungus are also traditional Chinese medicines. Eating them with strong tea will hinder the body from digesting and absorbing their ingredients. If the patient has the habit of drinking tea, it is recommended to drink tea 2 to 3 hours after taking Chinese herbal medicine.

3. During the period of taking Chinese medicine, remember not to eat cold, greasy, or spicy food, because eating cold food will affect the gastrointestinal absorption of the medicine, and is not conducive to strengthening the spleen and stomach; greasy food can easily cause intestinal stagnation, which is not conducive to the body's absorption of the medicine; spicy food ingredients can easily produce phlegm and irritate the gastrointestinal tract. It should be noted that spicy food is not just very spicy food, but also includes hot condiments such as onion, ginger, garlic, and pepper.

4. You cannot eat radish while taking Chinese medicine, because eating carrots while taking medicine will easily reduce the efficacy of the medicine and will not have a therapeutic effect. However, this depends on what kind of Chinese medicine you are taking.

5. In fact, there are no definite dietary restrictions for Chinese medicinal materials. It depends on the patient's own condition. For example, patients with pustular inflammation cannot eat irritating foods, patients with three highs cannot eat greasy foods, and patients with sensitive stomachs cannot eat cold foods.