Ma Huang Tang is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for inducing sweating and relieving exterior conditions. It is mainly composed of Ma Huang, Gui Zhi, Xing Ren, Gan Cao, and other Chinese herbs. It has excellent detoxifying effects for treating wind-cold type common cold. Let's learn more about Ma Huang Tang below!
[Composition of Ma Huang Tang]
Ma Huang Tang is a Chinese herbal preparation consisting of Ma Huang, Gui Zhi, Xing Ren, and Gan Cao. It has the effects of relieving exterior conditions, inducing sweating, and dispersing lung qi.
Ma Huang, with its bitter and warm properties, belongs to the lung and bladder meridians. It is good at opening the pores to induce sweating and expelling wind-cold pathogens from the surface. It also disperses lung qi and relieves asthma, making it the principal herb in this formula.
Gui Zhi relieves muscle tension and promotes sweating. It not only assists Ma Huang in relieving exterior conditions and enhancing sweating, but also promotes the flow of ying qi, alleviating pain. These two herbs complement each other and are a commonly used combination for inducing sweating with pungent and warm properties.
Xing Ren descends and regulates lung qi. Combined with Ma Huang, one herb disperses and the other descends, restoring the balance of lung qi and enhancing the function of relieving asthma, making it a commonly used combination for descending and regulating lung qi as an adjuvant herb.
Zhi Gan Cao not only harmonizes the dispersing and descending actions of Ma Huang and Xing Ren, but also moderates the strong properties of Ma Huang and Gui Zhi, preventing excessive sweating from harming the righteous qi. It is both a main herb and an adjuvant herb in this formula.
The combination of these four herbs disperses cold from the surface, promotes the flow of ying and wei qi, and disperses lung qi, thus resolving various symptoms.
[Effects of Ma Huang Tang]
Ma Huang Tang is mainly used to treat exterior conditions with wind-cold pathogens. Clinical manifestations include aversion to cold, fever, headache, absence of sweating but wheezing, thin and white tongue coating, tight and floating pulse, etc.
It can be used to treat respiratory tract infections such as influenza, acute bronchitis, and bronchial asthma, which belong to wind-cold exterior conditions.
It should be avoided in cases of excessive sweating and physical weakness to prevent the occurrence of collapse and other pathological changes.
[Precautions]
Ma Huang Tang is a potent diaphoretic. Once sweating occurs after taking the medicine, it should not be taken again. It should be avoided in cases of exterior deficiency spontaneous sweating, wind-heat exterior conditions, and exterior conditions with physical weakness.
Ma Huang Tang has a strong diaphoretic effect and should not be used in cases of cold-type common cold with sweating, hot-type common cold, cold-type common cold with physical weakness, postpartum women, and patients with blood loss. Improper use may cause excessive sweating and collapse.
After taking Ma Huang Tang and sweating occurs, various clinical symptoms are relieved, and Ma Huang Tang should not be taken again. If the symptoms of the cold have not been completely resolved, Gui Zhi Tang can be used instead.
