We all know that in life, Chinese medicine should not be mixed and used randomly, otherwise it will produce toxicity. Today, I will bring you the precautions for consuming Gan Sui, so be sure to remember them clearly.
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Functions and Indications of Gan Sui
Gan Sui can promote diuresis, break up accumulations, and regulate bowel movements. It is used to treat edema, abdominal distension, retention of fluid, chest congestion, dysentery, hiccup, abdominal masses, and difficulty in bowel movements.
① "Ben Jing": It is used to treat hernia, abdominal distension, facial edema, retention of fluid and food, and to break up abdominal masses and promote urination.
② "Bie Lu": It can induce diuresis and relieve bladder heat, treat skin nodules and heat-induced swelling.
③ "Yao Xing Lun": It can treat twelve types of water disorders, relieve abdominal distension, promote urination, eliminate phlegm and water, and treat skin edema.
④ "Gang Mu": It can promote urination and eliminate dampness in the kidney meridian and its collateral channels, treat foot edema, scrotal swelling and sagging, phlegm-induced epilepsy, and hiccup due to obstruction in the diaphragm.
【Dosage】Internally, it can be decocted with 0.5-1 qian (Chinese unit of weight); or made into pills or powder. Externally, it can be ground into powder and applied topically.
Gan Sui picture
Precautions for consuming Gan Sui
1. Pregnant women should avoid using it, and it should generally be stopped once the illness is cured.
2. It is advisable to use stewed Gan Sui or vinegar-treated Gan Sui, as these methods weaken its purgative effect and reduce its toxicity.
3. Traditional experience suggests avoiding the combination of Gan Sui with safflower and Chinese rhubarb, but modern experimental results are inconsistent.
Some reports indicate that, according to experiments on rabbits, when Gan Sui (or safflower, Chinese rhubarb) is combined with licorice, there are no significant changes in breathing, heart rate, body temperature, pupil response, or gastrointestinal function in functional gastrointestinal diseases. However, other experiments have shown that the combination of Gan Sui and licorice produces different reactions depending on the ratio of their amounts.
Toxicity of Gan Sui
Raw Gan Sui has a stronger effect and greater toxicity, while stewed Gan Sui has a weaker purgative effect and lower toxicity. After being treated with vinegar, its purgative effect is reduced and its toxicity is lowered.
Gan Sui is antagonistic to licorice, and its toxicity is increased when used together with licorice.
