Some things to take note:
大青龙汤 is compositionally 麻黄汤 plus 姜枣 plus 石膏
Quantity of 麻黄 double that of 小青龙汤 (6两 instead of just 3两)
(A) 大青龙汤 - the text (i):
“太阳中风，脉浮紧，发热恶寒，身疼痛，不汗出而烦躁者，大青龙汤主之。” (line 38a)
This line tells us symptoms similar to that of 麻黄汤. “vexation” (“烦躁”) due to the inability to perspire is added though. What does this tell us? […]
Let’s explore three H1-receptor blockers. H1-receptor blockers have several function, but we want to remember:
contract: bronchial airways, GI tract, womb smooth muscles
dilate: blood vessels on skin, capillaries (including those in the nasal passages); exudation and edema follows.
that’s why we get hives and catarrhal inflammation.
Just looking at antihistamine drugs, we can somehow make certain connections between […]
Expectorant action:
It’s the saponins (皂苷) that come into play here. Platycodon has up to at least 18 different saponins, with platycodin (桔梗皂苷) making up the bulk of it. Although Platycodon refers to the dried-up root, the other parts of the plant e.g. root bark, stem, leaf, flower, fruit also have expectorant action.
What happens is that […]
Introduction:
“痿者萎也，如草木之萎而不荣。”
That’s from some classic, I don’t remember now. In any case, when describing the lungs, just think of a set of lungs lacking nourishment, drying up, without much vitality, like a dying leaf.
Think late-stage pulmonary disease where the patient is too weak to even cough. His sputum is bubbly and not thick. His lungs and […]
The base formulae for 急性发作 as in the textbook:
1. Cold Asthma: 射干麻黄汤 or 小青龙汤
2. Hot Asthma: 定喘汤 or 越婢加半夏汤
3. Cold Covering Hot Asthma: 厚朴麻黄汤 or 小青龙加石膏汤
My summary of it is as below:
1. Cold Asthma: Use 小青龙汤 as base formula.
Throw away 桂枝 if there aren’t any exterior symptoms (this is what 射干麻黄汤 did)
Add 款冬花 and 紫菀 […]
