Administration-Chinese medicinal Herbs

The common administration of Chinese medicinal herbs may be oral, external or local. Forms of decoction, pill, powder, soft extract, and wine, etc., are prepared for oral use, while application, moxibustion, pigmentum, lotion, laryngeal insufflation of medicinal powder, eye drops, thermotherapy, and suppository, etc, are used exteriorly. Whereas the form of decoction is still most widely used at present, which are generally prepared by patients. Therefore doctors should tell their patients or patient's relatives how to decoct medicinal herbs in order to ensure achieving desired effects in clinical application of medicinal herbs.
5.2.1 Methods of decocting Chinese medicinal herbs
Stewing utensils available are a clay pot or earthen jar or a piece of enamelware. The water available must be clean and without peculiar smell. First put Chinese medicinal herbs into the enamelware and add water to it, the water being usually over the surface of the herbs. Before being decocted, the Chinese medicinal herbs need immersing in water for half an hour so as to make their medicinal components easily dissolve in the solution. Fire used in decocting the herbs should be controlled in the light of medicinal properties and qualities. The medicinal herbs with aromatic smell should be decocted with strong fire until the solution is boiled for several minutes, then a small fire is followed until the decoction is done, otherwise the medicinal effects will reduce nourishing medicinal herbs, since their qualities are greasy, should be decocted with a small fire for a long time or the effective factors are not easily decocted out. A dose of Chinese medicinal herbs is taken daily, which is usually decocted twice while nourishing ones may be decocted three times, the decocted juice being about 250 - 300 ml.
Since their qualities and properties are usually obviously different, different medicinal herbs should be given different treatment in decocting method and time. When a prescription is made out, the methods should be noted, so as to be followed by drug store or patients when the solution is decocted. The chief methods are shown as follows. Being decocted first: some kinds of minerals and shell medicines, such as Shigao (Gypsum Fibrosum), Cishi ( Magnetium ), Shijueming ( Concha Haliotidis ) and Biejia (Carapax Trionycis ) must be decocted first for 10 - 30 minutes, then the other kinds are put in, since they are hard in qualities and their effective components are not easily decocted out. The method is also indicated for decocting or boiling poisonious medicinal herbs, such as Wutou ( Radix Aconiti ) and Fuzi ( Radix Aconiti Lateralis Praeparata) thus their poisonous effects may be lessened or eliminated.
Being decocted later: Some aromatic medicinal herbs such as Bohe (Herba Menthae), Sharen (Fructus Amomi ) , Gouteng (Ramulus Uncariae cure Uncis ) and Shengdahuang (Radix et Rhizoma Rhei ) with volatile components must be added after the solution of the other medicinal herbs has been boiled 10 - 30 minutes, and then boiled another 5 minutes or Boiling of wrapped herbs: Some medicinal herbs must be wrapped in a piece of cloth or of gauze, and then put together with others in an enamelware to which water is added. The method is mainly indicated for the following medicinal herbs; the herbs, if decocted directly in water will make their decoction turbid which is difficult to be taken orally; some small seed medicinal herbs, after boiled, will float on the decoction and not be removed easily; some downy herbs, if decocted directly in water, will make their decoction mixed with soft hairs, which can not be removed easily and can irritate the throat when the decoction is taken. For instance, Chishizhi (Halloysitum Rubrum ), Feihuashi ( Talcum ), Cheqianzi ( Semen Plantaginis ) and Xuanfuhua ( Flos Inulae ).
Decocting or boiling singlely: The Chinese medicinal herbs, such as Renshen (Radix Ginseng) and Lingyangjiao (Cornu Saigae Tataricae ) must be decocted or boiled separately, which is mainly indicated for some precious medicines in order to prevent them being absorbed by other ingredients when they are decocted or boiled with other medicinal herbs.
Melting: Put the medicinal herbs to be melted into the decoction that has been boiled well and hasn't contained dregs of decoction and the medicinal herbs being stirred together until they are melted well for oral use. Besides, the medicines can also be melted by steaming in the container with water, and then the melted ones are mixed with the decocted juice without dregs for oral use. The method is mainly indicated for the medicine containing a lot of mucilage and easily soluble ones, such as Ejiao ( Colla Corii Asini ), Guibanjiao ( Colla Plastri Testudinis) and Yitang (Saccharum Granorum ). If decocted directly together with other herb medicines in water, they will be deposited at the bottom of the pot or stick to the other ingredients and not be easily filtered.
Infusions for oral taking: Some medicines that are dissolved as soon as they are put in water, such as Mangxiao (Natrii Sulfas). Some kinds of juice medicine such as Zhuli (Succus Phyllostachydis Henonis ), Fengmi (Mel) and Yitang ( Saccharum Granorum), and those that are got by grinding such kinds of medicines as Lingyangjiao ( Cornu Saigae Tataricae ) , Chenxiang (Lignum Aquitariae Resinatum) with water do not need decocting and are suitable to be mixed directly with water or the decocted juice for oral use.
5.2.2 Methods of taking Chinese medicinal herbs
Generally speaking, decoction must be taken warm. Chinese medicinal herbs in a prescription or a dose may be decocted twice, and the decocted juice is mixed together, being divided into two parts for daily use. An acute case must take two doses a day or even three doses, that is, once for every four hours. A chronic patient may take a dose a day or two days. Those used for stopping vomiting should be taken frequently in small amount; a patient with unconsciousness or trismus may be fed through his nose; diaphoretics should be taken warmly so as to promote the medicinal actions until sweating; purging Chinese medicinal herbs are taken until reducing diarrhea or vomiting. Pill or powder may be taken with warm water. As far as treatments are concerned, Chinese medicinal herbs warm in nature should be taken in cold or those cold in nature should be taken in warm.
As for the time of taking medicine, tonics should be taken before meals, paraciticides and purging medicinal herbs should be taken when stomach is empty, those for calming the mind should be taken before sleeping and those for stopping malaria should be taken two hours ahead when the disease has an attack. Those irritant to the stomach and intestine should be taken after meals. A patient with an acute disease may take medicine as soon as the disease attacks without limits of time.
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