【Prescription Name】
Papaya and Chuanxiong Powder
【Prescription Ingredients】
10-15g Papaya, 10-15g Chuanxiong, 10g Danshen, 6g Licorice, 5g Chinese Date
【Usage and Dosage】
Decoction, take 1 dose daily, warm after meals.
【Efficacy】
Papaya is warm in nature and sour in taste. It enters the liver and spleen meridians and has the effects of promoting meridian circulation, soothing the liver, and harmonizing the stomach. Modern medical research has shown that it has preventive and therapeutic effects on hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and digestive system cancers. In recent years, the author has used it as the main treatment for vascular neurogenic headache with satisfactory results.
【Modification in Clinical Practice】
For liver yang hyperactivity type, add 15g Gou Teng and 10g Huang Qin; for kidney deficiency type, add 10g Shan Zhu Yu and 15g Du Zhong; for blood deficiency type, add 15g Shu Di Huang and 15g Dang Gui; for phlegm turbidity type, add 20g Fu Ling and 10g Ban Xia; for blood stasis type, add 15g Chi Shao and 10g Hong Hua; for qi stagnation type, add 15g Chai Hu and 15g Yu Jin; for qi deficiency type, add 20g Huang Qi and 15g Bai Zhu.
【Explanation of the Prescription】
According to pharmacology, papaya contains papain, which is slightly toxic to the human body. Therefore, licorice and Chinese date are added in the prescription. First, they buffer the toxicity, and second, they harmonize the taste of the medicine and make it more palatable. In clinical practice, the author often encounters patients with persistent headaches. After examinations such as head CT, MRI, EEG, and cerebral blood flow imaging, no abnormalities are found. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that chronic diseases enter the collaterals, often involving deficiency, stasis, and stagnation. The book "Classification of Symptoms and Treatment" states that "if the six exogenous pathogens invade and the essence is obstructed, stagnation occurs in the empty orifices, and clear yang does not move, pain will occur." Papaya enters the liver meridian and has the effects of soothing the liver, relieving stagnation, promoting meridian circulation, and dispelling stasis. It is an effective medicine for treating headaches.
