"My friend said that this is an ancestral secret recipe, it can lower blood pressure, doctor, did you check wrong, how can I have kidney failure" In the hospital, 56-year-old Uncle Wang (pseudonym) wondered.
Uncle Wang has always had high blood pressure and taken medicine, but his blood pressure has always been less than ideal. Six months ago, Uncle Wang's friend learned of his situation and shared with him an ancestral secret recipe for traditional Chinese medicine, saying that it could lower blood pressure and make him insist on drinking it every day.
At first, Uncle Wang still felt that there was an effect, and it seemed that after drinking the decoction, he was not so prone to dizziness. So Uncle Wang secretly increased the dose and stopped Western medicine. Unexpectedly, half a year later, Uncle Wang felt that his body was getting worse and worse, his whole body was swollen, and his chest was tight and disgusting. When the family saw him like this, they hurriedly took him to the hospital for examination, and the results of the examination showed that Uncle Wang had kidney failure.
The doctor said it may be related to his improper medication. Because the "ancestral secret recipe" he took contains Aoki incense, which contains aristolochic acid substances, which are nephrotoxic and hurt the kidneys if drunk for a long time.
First, because of aristolochic acid, these 3 traditional Chinese medicines were removed from the National Pharmacopoeia
Aristolochic acid is an alkaloid that occurs naturally in plants in the Aristolochiaceae family, such as Aristolochia and Symplec. There are more than 600 known species of plants containing aristolochic acid. Due to its strong nephrotoxicity and liver toxicity, it has now been alerted or banned by many countries and regions around the world:
- In 2001, the World Health Organization began issuing a drug alert for aristolochic acid drugs.
- In April 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a consumer safety alert stating that "traditional remedies" containing aristolochic acid, dietary supplements, etc., could cause harm to the body.
- In 2003, Taiwan banned the sale of Chinese medicinal herbs containing aristolochic acid
- In June 2004, the Hong Kong Department of Health announced that the import and sale of proprietary Chinese medicines containing aristolochic acid is prohibited in Hong Kong, and that such proprietary Chinese medicines registration will not be approved when reviewing applications for registration of proprietary Chinese medicines in the future.
- In 2008, the International Agency for Research on Cancer officially listed aristolochic acid as a Class 1 carcinogen and aristolochic acid as a Class 2 carcinogen.
- In 2012, due to its strong toxicity, all aristolochic acids (including aristolochic acid, compounds containing aristolochic acid, and plants) were upgraded to Class 1 carcinogens.
In view of the fact that the carcinogenicity of aristolochic acid is widely recognized internationally, the mainland National Pharmacopoeia also deleted Chinese herbal medicines containing aristolochic acid in 2015, including three traditional Chinese medicines: Guanmutong, Guangfangji and Qingmuxiang.
Everyone should keep their eyes open and avoid these banned drugs. If it is impossible to judge whether the Chinese medicine is toxic, it is best not to take the so-called "secret recipe" without authorization, and the medication should be carried out under the guidance of a professional physician.
Second, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia: These 83 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines should not be eaten indiscriminately
Traditional Chinese medicines are often considered beneficial and harmless, with few adverse reactions. But as the saying goes, it is a three-point poison of medicine, and the use of Chinese medicine is not symptomatic, and the indiscriminate use of medicine will not only not cure the disease, but also hurt the body. The 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia classifies 83 potentially toxic drugs, mainly into three categories:
1. Low toxicity 31 categories
Including ground brocade grass, crow gall, Wu Zhuying, northern bean root, ground maple bark, red euphorbia, bitterwood root, soap horn, golden iron lock, winghead grass, loofah burn, crane lice, ground dragon, etc.
2. Poisoning 42 categories
Including cang's ear, mountain bean root, gansui, white fruit, anemone, toad crisp, castor bean, wood turtle, light powder, cinnabar, artichoke, huashan ginseng, tiannanxing, scorpion centipede, etc.
3. 10 types of highly toxic
Including Chuanwu, Grass Wu, Croton, Croton Cream, Strychnine, Tianxian, Yellow Rhododendron Powder, Medicinal Powder, Elixir, Spotted Ao.
Third, use Chinese medicine to master the 3 principles, don't make up blindly
The use of traditional Chinese medicine, mainly to play an auxiliary treatment or conditioning role, daily medication, should master three principles:
- Principle 1: Good prescriptions are not for everyone
Traditional Chinese medicine divides the human body constitution into 9 categories, and the individual differences are large, and the right medicine needs to be prescribed. Therefore, the use of Chinese medicine cannot be followed by everyone, and the prescriptions that are useful to others may not be suitable for you, and blind use of medicine is counterproductive.
- Principle 2: "Stop the disease" is the most important
"Medium disease stops" means that a certain treatment of a certain symptom, once it has an effect, should be discontinued. The use of Chinese herbal medicines should pay attention to the dosage, if the amount of medicine is too large, it is prone to side effects.
- Principle 3: The elderly should be careful with medication
Many elderly people, especially those with underlying diseases, blindly supplement have a great impact on the body. Clinical trials have also shown that ingesting more than 5 drugs at the same time is easy to cause greater side effects, especially after the age of 80, liver and kidney function decline, and can not be used indiscriminately.
In short, Chinese medicine is not a miracle medicine, can not cure all diseases, everyone do not abuse Chinese medicine, even common Chinese medicine can not be eaten indiscriminately, it is best to take under the guidance of a professional doctor.
Resources:
[1] "Listed as a Class 1 carcinogen! Why is aristolochic acid still present in these common medicines? 》. Beijing News.2017-10-31
[2] "Use Chinese herbal medicine to maintain health, liver damage is detected in half a year!" Doctor: Don't eat these 83 kinds of Chinese herbal medicine blindly! 》. Health Times.2020-11-12
[3] "5 Common Chinese Medicines Will Hurt the Body? Pharmacists tell 3 truths about Chinese medicine". Life Times.2018-07-25
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