What are the medicinal properties of reed root?

Reeds are very common in the wild, and among these plants, there is a very common medicinal material, which is reed root. In layman's terms, reed root is actually the root of reed, which can be used as medicine after being dried and processed. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are two types of reed root: fresh reed root and dried reed root. So, what are the medicinal properties of the Chinese herb reed root?

Reed root has the effects of clearing away heat, promoting body fluid, eliminating restlessness, stopping vomiting and promoting diuresis. It is mainly used to treat thirst due to fever, vomiting due to stomach heat, cough due to lung heat, pus vomiting due to lung abscess, and painful and astringent stranguria due to heat.

1. Reed root can clear the middle and dispel wind-heat, and can be used to treat wind-heat cough. It is often combined with mulberry leaves, chrysanthemum, platycodon and other medicines to dispel wind and heat, promote lung function and relieve cough. The recipe is Sangju Drink in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases".

2. Reed root is used for fever and thirst.

3. The medicinal effect is stronger when used fresh.

4. Reed root is used for hot and painful stranguria.

5. In the early stage of measles, if the rash is not coming out smoothly, you can use reed root with mint and cicada shell to dispel wind and heat, expel toxins and clear the rash.

6. Reed root is used for cough due to lung heat and pus vomiting due to lung abscess. Reed root can clear away lung heat and act as a diuretic, and can guide heat toxins out of the urine. Therefore, it can treat lung heat cough with thick phlegm and lung abscess cough with pus and blood. To treat the former, it is often combined with mulberry bark, scutellaria baicalensis, Fritillaria and other drugs to clear away heat, resolve phlegm and relieve cough; to treat the latter, it is often combined with platycodon, houttuynia cordata, raw coix seed, honeysuckle and other drugs to clear the lungs, discharge pus, detoxify and treat abscesses.

7. Reed root has the property of penetrating and dispersing.

8. Reed root can also be used to treat puffer fish poisoning. Use the juice alone, or add ginger, perilla leaves, etc., and boil it in water to drink.

9. Reed root is used for vomiting caused by stomach heat. Reed root can clear away heat, harmonize the stomach and stop vomiting, but it is not greasy and harmful to the stomach. Therefore, it is an important medicine for treating vomiting caused by stomach heat. For mild cases, it can be used alone. For severe cases, it is often used with bamboo shavings, ginger, rice, etc. to enhance the effect of clearing heat, relieving adverse effects, and stopping vomiting, such as the Reed Root Drink in Qianjin Yaofang.

Category: Heat-clearing and fire-purging medicine.

Nature and flavor: sweet, cold.

Meridians: Lung meridian and stomach meridian.

Efficacy: Clears away heat, promotes body fluid, relieves restlessness, stops vomiting and promotes urination.

Indications: Used for fever, thirst, stomach heat, vomiting, lung heat, cough, lung abscess, pus vomiting, and hot and painful stranguria.

Dosage and Administration: For internal use: decoction, 15-30g (60-120g for fresh product); or mash fresh product into juice. For external use: take appropriate amount and decoct in water for washing.

Source: This product is the fresh or dried rhizome of the monocotyledonous plant Phragmites australis of the Poaceae family.

Contraindications

People with weak spleen and stomach should avoid taking reed root.

There are many ways to eat reed root. You can put some reed root into the mung bean soup. If you are afraid of the bitterness, you can also add some rock sugar. The function of this reed root and mung bean soup is to reduce fire and relieve fever, which is very suitable for people with a constitution that gets heated. In addition, it is also very good to use reed root to make rice porridge, which can help relieve heat and soothe the stomach.