There is a folk saying: "If a family has wormwood for three years, there is no need for a doctor." This fully illustrates that wormwood is indeed a good thing for us. Many people know that traditional Chinese medicine uses wormwood for moxibustion to dispel cold and heat. The benefits of wormwood for our body should not be ignored. So how should we use this good thing called wormwood?
1. Moxibustion with Wormwood Sticks
Wormwood has a bitter, pungent, and warm nature, and it enters the spleen, liver, and kidneys. Wormwood sticks can promote the circulation of Qi and blood, remove dampness, nourish the skin, settle the fetus, nourish Yin Qi, warm the uterus, kill parasites, and treat various diseases through moxibustion. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that wormwood leaves are used as medicine. It has warm nature, bitter taste, non-toxicity, pure Yang nature, and has the effects of promoting the circulation of Qi and blood, dispelling dampness and cold, stopping bleeding, and settling the fetus. It is often used in acupuncture. Therefore, it is also known as the "medicinal herb." The popular "herbal bath" in Taiwan mostly uses wormwood. The whitening bath studied by Empress Dowager Cixi's imperial physician also includes wormwood.
2. Smoking the Room with Wormwood
Modern research has shown that the smoke produced by burning wormwood has a significant inhibitory effect on various pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and viruses that cause epidemic diseases. Therefore, during seasons when contagious diseases such as colds are prevalent, drying wormwood and smoking the room can not only create a natural disinfectant atmosphere in the air around the human body but also kill bacteria and viruses accumulated in the nasal sinuses and throat, thus preventing influenza.
3. Soaking Feet with Wormwood
For patients with heavy body cold and dampness, soaking feet with wormwood once a week is recommended. At the same time, drinking a cup of ginger and red jujube water can be used as an adjuvant. During the foot soaking with wormwood, it is advisable to drink warm water, eat less cold food, and rest. Discomfort in the head, face, throat, and chronic bronchitis caused by deficiency heat and excess fire can be alleviated to a certain extent. Taking a wormwood bath can also effectively prevent and improve symptoms such as skin itching.
Whether it is fresh leaves or dried wormwood, both can be applied as Chinese herbal medicine in daily life. Wormwood can regulate Qi and blood, expel cold and dampness, warm the meridians, settle the fetus, stop bleeding, relieve asthma, have antibacterial and antiviral effects, suppress cough and phlegm, calm and anti-allergy, protect the liver and promote bile secretion, and many more. However, although wormwood is good, it should not be consumed for a long time. In the damp spring season, consuming wormwood once every 7-8 days is sufficient. It is not suitable for patients with wind-heat cold to avoid "adding fuel to the fire."
