Traditional Chinese Medicine offers many small remedies that are simple to learn, economical, and practical, and can be useful for minor ailments. Below are 15 small remedies worth keeping for reference.

Small Traditional Chinese Medicine Remedies

1. Early Stage of Common Cold: Wind-Cold Dispersion Soup

1 egg, 10g coriander, 5g scallion white, 5g ginger, salt, MSG, and other seasonings to taste. Beat the egg until smooth. Wash the coriander, scallion white, and ginger, then chop them finely. Bring water to a boil, add a small amount of starch to slightly thicken the water, then slowly pour in the beaten egg to form egg ribbons. Add the coriander, scallion, ginger, salt, MSG, and other seasonings. Before serving, add a little sesame oil.

2. Frequent Colds: Astragalus and Goji Berry Stewed Young Chicken

1 young chicken (about 500g), 30g astragalus root, 30g goji berries, 10g atractylodes rhizome, and seasonings to taste. Clean the young chicken, cut it into small pieces, and add the above Chinese herbs along with seasonings such as scallion, ginger, garlic, salt, and cooking wine. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Eat the meat and drink the soup.

3. Wind-Cold Cough: Apricot Kernel and Perilla Cake

Take an appropriate amount of flour, let it ferment, and knead it into 3–5 pieces. Grind 15 grams of apricot kernels into powder after removing the skin, mix with an appropriate amount of brown sugar, and sprinkle evenly over the surface of the cakes. Then, wash 3–5 fresh perilla leaves and place them on top of the cakes. Steam the cakes in a pot until cooked, and consume once or twice daily.

4. Wind-Heat Cough: Honeysuckle Flower Infused Egg

Crack one egg into a bowl. Boil 15 grams of honeysuckle flowers in 200 ml of water for 5 minutes, then use the decoction to pour over the egg. Consume the mixture while it is still warm, all at once.

5. Cough due to Qi Deficiency: Walnut and Ginseng Decoction

20g walnut meat (with skin), 6g ginseng, and 3 slices of ginger are boiled together with an appropriate amount of water until 200ml of decoction is obtained. Add a small amount of rock sugar. Take once daily, warm, before bedtime. Do not take if there is excessive phlegm or blood in the phlegm.

6. Cough due to Phlegm-Dampness: Perilla Seed and Poria Cocos Porridge

15g perilla seeds, 60g coix seed, and 15g poria cocos powder are cooked into porridge and consumed each evening. The perilla seeds should be wrapped in clean gauze and discarded before eating.

7. Deficiency Heat Pharyngitis: Scrophularia-Platycodon-Licorice Tea

For throat discomfort, whether pain, dryness, irritation, or itching, hoarseness, or loss of voice, Scrophularia-Platycodon-Licorice Tea is recommended. Take 10 grams of Scrophularia ningpoensis, 10 grams of Platycodon grandiflorus, and 10 grams of raw licorice root, place them together in a cup, pour boiling water over them, cover tightly for 20 minutes, and then drink.

8. Dry Eye Syndrome: Herbal Steam Therapy

Take an appropriate amount of chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, goji berries, lily bulbs, mint, etc., pour them into a cup, add boiling water, and use the steam to fumigate the eyes for about 10 minutes. After the water cools, it can also be consumed as tea. For mild cases, fumigate three to four times a day; for severe cases, fumigate about six times.

9. Dry Mouth and Thirst: Water Chestnut and White Fungus Soup

Take appropriate amounts of water chestnuts, white fungus, lotus seeds, goji berries, and rock sugar. First, soak the white fungus until softened and tear into small pieces; peel the water chestnuts and cut into small pieces; wash the goji berries and lotus seeds. Add water to a pot, then add the lotus seeds, white fungus, and water chestnuts. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 40 minutes. Add the goji berries and rock sugar, simmer briefly, and serve.

10. Cold Stomach and Stomach Pain: Pepper, Jujube, and Almond Drink

Take 10 peppercorns, 3 jujubes, and 5 sweet almonds. Grind them together into a powder, mix with warm water, and take once daily.

11. Insomnia: Lily Soup

Use 25 grams of lily bulbs and 10 grams of rice, add 500 ml of water to simmer into a soup, cook over low heat until the rice is soft. Take one dose daily. If fresh lily bulbs are unavailable, dried lily bulbs can be purchased from a pharmacy, but the amount should be halved.

12. Frequent Urination: Dried Fruit Tea

Use 20 goji berries, 20 raisins, 2 dried longan pulp pieces, 2 dried almonds, and 2 walnut kernels. Steep in boiling water, then drink the water and eat the soaked ingredients.

13. Constipation: Sweet Potato Congee

50g sweet potato, 50g millet. First wash and cut the sweet potato into small pieces, rinse the millet clean, then put both into a pot with 300ml of water and bring to a boil. Then simmer over low heat until the rice is soft and forms a congee. Take twice daily, preferably at breakfast and dinner.

14. Internal Hemorrhoid Bleeding: Sesame with Sugar

Take some black sesame seeds, stir-fry until fragrant, grind into powder, mix with an appropriate amount of sugar, and take two spoonfuls morning and evening. Black sesame seeds help soften stools, reduce hemorrhoid bleeding and prolapse. Those with internal hemorrhoid bleeding accompanied by constipation can take this long-term.

15. Scrotal Eczema: External Wash with Pepper Water

Take 10 grams of pepper, add 2000 milliliters of water, bring to a boil, and wash the affected area while warm, twice daily.

The above methods are for reference only. If you have related symptoms, please consult a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner first and use under the guidance of a doctor.