Insights and Updates

Today the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day fall together, a joyous occasion; I wish all readers a happy holiday. From the outbreak of the pandemic until today, we can finally breathe easy and celebrate properly. Thinking back to the national panic at Spring Festival, it…

My son has chosen mathematics and physics as his life's work, rather than medicine as his mother and I had hoped. At first I felt quite regretful, but thinking of my own life, which I have always lived according to my own interests, I felt…

Guizhi Fuling Wan (Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill) comes from the twentieth chapter, "On the Pulse and Treatment of Pregnancy Diseases in Women," of Zhang Zhongjing's Jingui Yaolue (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet). It is a commonly used gynecological formula and may be applied…

Yuye Tang (Jade Fluid Decoction) comes from Yixue Zhong Zhong Can Xi Lu (Records of Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine), an empirical formula of the late-Qing/early-Republic physician Zhang Xichun. Its typical indications are thirst and excessive urination. According to traditional TCM theory, Yuye Tang chiefly…

Accepting and understanding depressed patients requires great patience. Many families of depressed patients think the patient is merely "putting on an act." They do look as if they are, because their depressive mood comes on without warning, for no reason and at no fixed time.

Qige San (Obstruction-Opening Powder) comes from Yixue Xinwu (Medical Insights) by the Qing-dynasty physician Cheng Guopeng (courtesy name Zhongling). In the "dysphagia and choking" (ye ge) section of Yixue Xinwu, Qige San is described as a formula that "opens dysphagia and obstruction, and has repeatedly…

Shengxue Busui Tang (Blood-Generating Marrow-Strengthening Decoction) comes from Shangke Buyao (Supplement to Trauma Medicine). The original formula consists of raw Rehmannia (Sheng Dihuang), Peony (Shaoyao), Astragalus (Huangqi), Eucommia (Duzhong), Acanthopanax bark (Wujiapi), Achyranthes (Niuxi), Angelica (Danggui), Dipsacus (Chuan Xuduan), Ligusticum (Chuanxiong), and Safflower (Honghua); Shangke…

Patients or their families misusing medication without consulting a physician has become a shocking phenomenon. Many patients subconsciously believe that in medicine the most important thing is the drug, not the doctor, and only look for a doctor after medication has caused a major problem.

In clinical practice, Professor Zhu Chenyu tried many approaches and eventually created an empirical formula, "Guomin Jian" (Allergy-Dispersing Decoction), which he used to treat seasonal allergic rhinitis and allergic skin diseases (psoriasis, urticaria, pityriasis rosea, acne, allergic dermatitis, etc.) with good results. Professor Zhu Chenyu's…

On the evening of Saturday, September 19, I discussed with my son: "Where shall we cycle tomorrow? Shall we go deep into the mountains of Mentougou to see the autumn scenery, or go to Tongzhou to pay respects at Li Zhuowu's tomb?" My son, who…