Qingfei Decoction: A Fairly Effective Remedy for Cough from Recent Mycoplasma Infection
Recently, mycoplasma outbreaks have occurred in many regions across the country. Many patients, after infection, no longer have a fever following treatment, but their cough lingers and is slow to resolve. The clinical symptoms are dry cough or difficult-to-expectorate phlegm, with cough more noticeable at night than during the day, and urine that may or may not be dark yellow. The author has tried many prescriptions and finally found the Japanese Kampo remedy Qingfei Tang (Qingfei Decoction) to be the most effective. Qingfei Tang granules are available as ready-made patent medicines in Japan, but they are hard to buy domestically; some daigou agents on Taobao sell them, though at a very high price. However, the prescription of Qingfei Tang is public, and patients can buy the herbs themselves and decoct them according to the formula.
Qingfei Tang (Clear the Lung Decoction): Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix) 8g, Xingren (Armeniacae Semen) 8g, Chuanbeimu (Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus) 8g, Zhuru (Bambusae Caulis in Taeniam) 8g, Maidong (Ophiopogonis Radix) 12g, Sheng Gancao (raw Glycyrrhizae Radix) 4g, Jiegeng (Platycodi Radix) 8g, Zhizi (Gardeniae Fructus) 8g, Chenpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium) 8g, Fuling (Poria) 12g, Wuweizi (Schisandrae Fructus) 2g, Sangbaipi (Mori Cortex) 8g, Tiandong (Asparagi Radix) 8g, Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) 12g, Dazao (Jujubae Fructus) 8g, Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma recens) 2g. One dose daily; decoct with two bowls of water down to eight-tenths of a bowl of medicinal liquid. Decoct twice, combine the two decoctions, and take in 2–3 divided doses after meals. This is the adult dose: infants aged 0–3 use one-third of the dose, children aged 3–10 use half the dose, and children over 10 use the adult dose. This formula treats lung-heat cough and wheezing, dry mouth and parched tongue, and cough with expectoration of yellow phlegm.
In the later stage of mycoplasma infection, the patient no longer has a fever, only cough, and the cough persists and is slow to resolve. Taking this formula is unlikely to effect a complete cure at once, but it can markedly improve the patient's symptoms. During medication, the patient should also rest more, drink more water, and boost their own immunity to promote self-healing. Qingfei Tang can also be made into pills: grind the above herbs together into a fine powder, and form pills with refined honey, each pill the size of a soybean. Take 20–30 pills each time, 2–3 times a day; taking the pills can also effectively improve the patient's cough symptoms.
When taking Qingfei Tang for lung-heat-type cough, effects are usually seen within a week. If there is no improvement after a week of taking the medicine, do not continue; consult a professional physician to adjust the regimen.