I have been asked recently: Why do old Chinese medicine doctors always let Huo Xiang be righteous when they encounter cold and damp constitutions?

This has to start with what traditional Chinese medicine says "Zhongjiao is like a bubble". Our spleen and stomach are like cauldrons, responsible for "steaming" what we eat into qi and blood. If cold and dampness creep in, it is like throwing a piece of ice into a pot, and the lid of the pot is full of white mist - at this time, people will feel heavy, dizzy in the morning, eat something cold, and be particularly afraid of cold. Look at the tongue, it is white and greasy as if covered with a layer of frost, which is a typical cold and damp spleen. The Huoxiang in Huoxiang Zhengqi is like a "little sun", which can roast the cold and dampness in the middle burnt, and then expel the moisture along the urine and feces through the "ventilation ducts" such as perilla and angelica.

So why do you look for the two wonderful pills with a damp and hot constitution? You see those who have shiny faces, red bumps at every turn, yellow urine like strong tea, smoked stools that can "kill", dry mouth all day long, tongue sticking out yellow and greasy like a layer of paint - this is the typical damp heat. Traditional Chinese medicine says "wet and sticky, hot and inflamed", and these two together are like pouring water into an oil pan, crackling and having fun. The atractylodes in Ermiaowan are like a water-absorbing sponge that sucks away excess moisture; Huangbai is like a basin of cold water, extinguishing the empty fire. When the two medicines are taken together, the dampness and heat are excreted along the urine.

The most troublesome thing now is the constitution of cold and heat. This type of person is particularly contradictory: the roots of the legs are always wet, a mouth can smoke people down, their hearts are irritable and panicked, but their stomachs are afraid of cold; The ribs are swollen like balloons, in fact, this is the liver and gallbladder with dampness and heat "burning fire", and the spleen and stomach dragging moisture to "drag back". At this time, you have to invite nectar disinfection pills, which are like a "double-sided cleaner" - Yinchen and talc can wash away the dampness and heat of the liver and gallbladder, and Huoxiang and white cardamom can dehumidify the spleen and stomach. The prescription also hides scutellaria and forsythia and other heat-clearing drugs, which also clean up the scorched fire.

In the final analysis, traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to "syndrome differentiation and treatment", just like an old locksmith gives a key, you have to see what the lock cylinder looks like. If you have these symptoms, don't take medicine blindly, it's best to find a traditional Chinese medicine doctor to take the pulse, warm the yang when it should be warm, and clear the heat when it should be cleared, which is the real "right medicine".