When it comes to cough medicine, there are actually many, many, such as the medical saint Zhang Zhongjing's favorite Chinese medicine for cough, there are four flavors, in "Treatise on Typhoid Fever", ephedra and almonds are commonly used to suppress cough; But if you want to talk about the ease of use of traditional Chinese medicine, it is obvious that aster and winter flower are better. Ephedra, a traditional Chinese medicine, is basically not very popular after Zhongjing, and even in "Dream of Red Mansions", it is called "the medicine of the tiger and wolf". And almonds, especially bitter almonds, have a little poison, one is that the dosage and decoction method are not careful, and it may be uncomfortable to drink, and the other is that pregnant women and children are not suitable for use. However, aster and winter flowers do not have these doorways, and in comparison, aster and winter flowers, aster are used more frequently, which can be called the "trump card" of cough medicine since Zhongjing.
The taste of aster is a traditional Chinese medicine that first came from the "Shennong Materia Medica", and it was clearly pointed out in the "Shennong Materia Medica" that aster has the wonderful effect of "the main cough is against the upper qi, and the cold and heat in the chest are condensed", so it is well-deserved for aster to suppress cough. In the era of the medical saint Zhang Zhongjing, he inherited a very good prescription for cough, which used aster, and this recipe is to shoot dry ephedra soup, in which aster plays the role of a subordinate medicine, playing the role of "diarrhea and cough, reducing inversion and expectorant, warming cold drink, and regulating the qi", which has laid a solid foundation for aster to be based on cough and asthma diseases.
Aster this flavor of traditional Chinese medicine, derived from the Asteraceae plant Aster, medicinal roots and rhizomes, medicinal properties are hard and warm; it is quite unique in terms of returning to the meridians, it specializes in the lung meridians, and has the functions of "warming the lungs, lowering the qi, eliminating phlegm, and relieving cough"; it can be used to treat phlegm and wheezing cough, new cough, coughing up blood, coughing up blood from cold, coughing up pus and blood from fatigue, throat paralysis, unfavorable urination and other diseases. In other words, the flavor of aster, for the disease of cough, if used properly, it will be able to hit every shot. Of course, the treatment of various coughs with aster is not a traditional Chinese medicine that can sweep away all kinds of coughs, it needs to be compatible and formulated, after all, "good medicine is not as good as Lai's prescription".
Aster for cough, can not only be used for phlegm cough and asthma, but also for coughing up blood, and no matter how long it is, no matter whether it is cold or hot, it is indeed the "nemesis" of cough. In the treatment of cough, regardless of external and internal injuries, whether cold or heat, deficiency or reality, it can be used, especially for lung congestion, cough with phlegm. As the "trump card" in cough suppressant traditional Chinese medicine, aster is warm and not dry, and is good at moistening the lungs, opening the lungs, dissolving phlegm and turbidity, relieving cough and asthma, and is a necessary medicine for all coughs.
In clinical application, in addition to being used alone, aster can also be used in combination with other traditional Chinese medicines, which can often play more wonderful roles. For example, in the treatment of external wind and cold, cough and throat itching, can be used in combination with traditional Chinese medicine such as bellflower, nepeta, white front, etc., can enhance the effect of dissipating cold and relieving pharynx; if it is used for lung fever cough, phlegm is yellow and thick, it can be used in combination with traditional Chinese medicine such as skullcap, mulberry white bark, Zhejiang fritillary, etc., can enhance the effect of clearing the lungs and dissolving phlegm; if it is used for yin deficiency and fatigue, with blood in the sputum, it can be compatible with traditional Chinese medicine such as Ejiao, Zhimu, Sichuan fritillary, etc., which can enhance the effect of nourishing yin and moistening the lungs; if it is used for lung qi weakness, cold cough and wheezing, it can be used with Codonopsis, Astragalus, The compatibility of traditional Chinese medicine such as dried ginger can enhance the effect of warming the lungs.
Since the record of "Shennong's Materia Medica", although its clinical efficacy is not as full of stars as some traditional Chinese medicines, it has interpreted the "focus to the extreme" very well. For example, "Benjing Fengyuan" says that "Aster specializes in lung qi", and "Materia Medica" says that Aster "specializes in the treatment of blood phlegm and is a holy medicine for blood labor". Regarding the medicinal characteristics of aster, Li Zhongzi, a medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, said that aster is "pungent but not dry, moist but not cold, tonic but not sluggish", and this kind of medicinal property is not much in cough medicine. And the Qing Dynasty famous doctor Zhang Shanlei said, "Aster, soft and moist, although said to be bitter and warm, non-explosive comparable, can vent lung depression, fixed cough and reduce adversity, Xuantong stagnation, and soothing lung qi and blood", the effect of aster to vent lung depression, soothe lung qi and blood, reduce cough and reduce inversion, Xuantong suffocation and other aspects of the effect on the paper.
For the clinical application of aster, the "Justice of Materia Medica" elaborates on three aspects: first, "all wind-cold external bundles, lung qi congestion, coughing and choking, shortness of breath and croup, and burning of qi, depression for pulmonary carbuncles, coughing up pus and blood, phlegm and smelly filth, all of which are incurable"; second, aster is "particularly suitable" for the symptoms of "cold drinking and saliva, and the turbidity and saliva gum solidify the throat like the sound of a water chicken"; third, aster is "warm but not hot, moist but not dry, so it is suitable for both cold and heat, and there is no way to avoid it". It is not difficult to see that aster is a "panacea" for cough.
In general, the effect of aster on cough is very strong, but the strength of warm and dry cough and real heat cough is not particularly strong, and it needs to be compatible with other Chinese medicines to play a better role. Aster this flavor of traditional Chinese medicine, its contraindications are relatively few, generally speaking, only the body has real heat to use with caution, and then when decoction, try to use a casserole, do not use a copper pot or iron pot to decoction.
[This graphic and text is exclusively and originally produced by "Shenxiyuan" new media. Author: Shen Xi Yuan (the spiritual home of global Chinese medicine practitioners, the museum of Chinese medicine life science), without authorization, please do not reprint or copy]