Four Umbilical Therapies for Ascites
Umbilical therapy (qifa) is a method by which medicinals are placed on the navel, with or without heating, and exert a certain therapeutic effect through transdermal delivery at the umbilical region. Ascites patients who cannot take oral medication may try umbilical therapy, but it is not necessarily effective for every patient. So if the trial proves ineffective, one should stop promptly and seek help from a professional physician.
For umbilical therapy one needs to prepare some empty plaster patches; these empty patches are easily bought on Taobao. Generally one can choose patches with an inner diameter of 10 cm. When using, place the medicinal into the medication area of the empty patch and stick it directly on the navel.
Method One: Take 1-3 river snails (or snails, which need to be crushed), 1 clove of garlic, and 15 g of plantain seed (Cheqianzi), and decoct them into a paste. Put this paste into an empty plaster patch and apply it directly externally on the navel. Garlic has a certain irritating effect and some patients cannot tolerate it; those who cannot tolerate it may omit the garlic.
Method Two: Take 1 scallion (with root and earth attached, unwashed), 1 piece of fresh ginger, 21 fermented soybeans (Dandouchi), and 30 g of salt. Mash them together, shape into a cake, and warm it. While warm, cover the navel with this cake; alternatively, put the above medicinal cake into an empty plaster patch and apply it on the navel. This method has the action of unblocking yang and facilitating the orifices, and is indicated for constipation and difficult urination.
Method Three: Take 3-6 g of Kongxian Dan (Phlegm-Controling Elixir), grind it into powder, mix it with honey into a paste, then put it into an empty plaster patch and apply it on the navel. The ingredients of Kongxian Dan are: equal parts of Euphorbia kansui (Gansui), Peking spurge root (Daji), and white mustard seed (Baijiezi). Gansui and Daji are generally not sold in ordinary pharmacies, so patients may buy ready-made Kongxian Dan online, grind it to a fine powder for medicinal use. Kongxian Dan can also be taken internally, but the side effects of oral use are greater; for those who are weak, umbilical therapy is recommended instead.
Method Four: Take 1-2 liang of fresh dandelion root, add 20-30 g of mirabilite (Mangxiao), and mash them together into a pulp. Use a larger empty plaster patch, or put all the medicine directly into the navel and secure it with gauze. Because this method uses a relatively large amount of medicine, one can buy empty plaster patches with a larger inner diameter for use. Mirabilite may cause adverse reactions such as diarrhea; if the patient develops severe diarrhea after using this method, the mirabilite may be omitted in subsequent use.