Use Chinese herbal incense to disinfect and prevent virus invasion!

The Chinese medicine shop was filled with light smoke and a faint fragrance, which attracted the attention of people who came to get medicine. They asked what was burning. In fact, the Chinese medicine Atractylodes was being burned in the pharmacy. Because of the recent spread of the new coronavirus, the Chinese medicine Atractylodes was burned to disinfect the air.

Chinese medicines such as Atractylodes lancea and Artemisia argyi contain volatile oils that can eliminate dampness and avoid filth. There are also historical records of preventing plague through "qi treatment" methods such as burning incense, wearing sachets, and sprinkling incense powder on the body. Chemical and physical disinfection may cause varying degrees of damage to the environment and the human body, and Chinese medicine incense fumigation is a relatively economical and safe intervention method.

Traditional Chinese medicine incense has a long history of epidemic prevention

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, "Zhuangzi" and "Li Sao" recorded that some people wore sachets to avoid foul air. In many Chinese medicine classics such as "Huangdi Neijing", "Wenbing Tiaobian", "Qianjin Fang", "Shanghan Lun", "Taiping Shenghui Fang", etc., there are also records of various methods and practices of using incense to prevent and treat plague.

In Jin Ge Hong's "Emergency Prescriptions for the Elbow", it is mentioned that "to prevent the spread of plague, use moxa to moxibustion the four corners of the patient's bed, one strong one each, which is good." This shows that moxa fumigation was used to achieve the effect of isolation and disinfection at that time. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Sun Simiao recorded in "Thousand Golden Prescriptions" that "in case of a major epidemic, prepare Taiyi Liujin Powder... burn it in the courtyard, and burn and fumigate patients with warm bodies to disinfect and prevent epidemics" and "Tiger Head Killing Ghost Pills are made into marbles, put in a cloth bag, tied to the arm or hung on the four corners of the house to avoid epidemics." Song Zhang Guo's "Medical Theory" quoted: "Whenever you go out, use realgar as big as tung seeds, burn it in the fire to smoke swallow foot bandages, straw sandals, collars and collars... to prevent the infection of plague bacteria through the corners of clothing."

There are many records in the Ming Dynasty's Compendium of Materia Medica and other books, saying that whenever there is a spread of epidemic air, you can burn herbs such as Atractylodes lancea, Artemisia argyi, Angelica dahurica, Cloves, and sulfur in the room to disinfect the air and ward off the filth. This shows that various aromatic herbs made into fumigants are widely used in epidemic prevention. Traditional Chinese medicine has unique theories and practices for preventing and treating epidemics, and these methods of preventing and treating epidemics have been passed down and influenced to this day.

Chinese medicine fumigation can "strengthen the body and eliminate evil" Chinese medicine advocates "preventing disease before it occurs". Its fundamental principle is to follow nature, balance yin and yang, and take measures in advance to prevent the occurrence and development of diseases. The main concept of Chinese medicine for epidemic prevention is "strengthening the body and eliminating evil".

According to records, the Chinese medicine used for fumigation for epidemic prevention mainly includes Atractylodes, Artemisia argyi, Angelica dahurica, Acorus calamus, Chuanxiong, mint, Magnolia officinalis, Patchouli, Evodia rutaecarpa, Tsaoko, Honeysuckle, Isatis root, etc. Most of these are pungent and warm medicines that dry dampness or disperse wind and heat, and have the effects of raising and lowering body fluids, invigorating the spleen and eliminating dampness, and dispersing the liver and promoting qi. In addition, they can avoid filth, eliminate evil and kill insects. Fumigation can make the internal organs peaceful and the qi and blood smooth; it can inspire the body's positive energy, eliminate filthy evil energy, make the positive energy gradually recover, and evil energy cannot invade, thereby enhancing the body's immunity and preventing epidemics from invading the human body. Chinese medicine has unique advantages in antiviral: multi-component, multi-pathway, multi-target, not easy to produce drug resistance, and the antiviral pathways are mainly direct inactivation or inhibition of viruses, and indirect antiviral by regulating the body's immune function. Common aromatic dehumidifying Chinese medicines, such as Patchouli, Artemisia argyi, Atractylodes lancea, and Perilla frutescens, have volatile oils, flavonoids, and tannins as their main ingredients, which have significant inhibitory effects on bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Bacteria and viruses that invade the human body through the respiratory system are most likely to accumulate in the sinus cavity and throat, and the volatile oils contained in aromatic dehumidifying medicines can stimulate the increase in the content of secretory immunoglobulin A on the nasal mucosa, enhance nonspecific immunity, and make it difficult for viruses to survive on the nasal mucosa and respiratory mucosa, playing a certain role in preventing epidemic viruses. In addition, Chinese medicines that dry dampness and dispel wind, such as Angelica dahurica and Asarum, have inhibitory effects on Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Chinese medicines that clear heat and detoxify, such as honeysuckle, Radix Isatidis, and Folium Isatidis, have been shown in experimental studies to have antibacterial, antibacterial, and antiviral effects.

Chinese herbal incense disinfection has advantages

The most commonly used traditional Chinese medicine fumigation disinfection and epidemic prevention methods are hanging, fumigation and burning. The modern development of Chinese medicine fumigation disinfection and sterilization methods has added the use of Chinese medicine extract disinfectant, Chinese medicine extract spray, Chinese medicine fumigation antibacterial strips, etc. Many experimental studies have shown that the disinfection and sterilization effects of Chinese medicine fumigants are no different from those of physical and chemical disinfection methods, and some are even better than physical and chemical disinfection methods.

****Research published by a hospital in Fujian and the School of Medicine of Guangxi University of Science and Technology in Strait Pharmacy and Northern Pharmacy respectively showed that burning Atractylodes lancea and Artemisia argyi can reduce the number of bacteria in the air to ≤ 500 cfu/ m3 , meeting the requirements of Class III environment, and its effect is better than ultraviolet and formaldehyde disinfection. The experimental conclusion published by Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Management in 2019 concluded that the effect of Chinese medicine fumigation disinfection is the same as that of ultraviolet lamp disinfection. The research conclusions published by Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangdong Province and Nanchang Fourth Hospital in Modern Distance Education of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2015 and 2018 respectively: the disinfection effect of Chinese medicine extract disinfectant is the same as that of 2% peracetic acid, and the bacterial elimination rate after disinfection with Chinese medicine extract is greater than the average elimination rate of ultraviolet disinfection. Huzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine also published a study in the Journal of Chinese Traditional Medicine: the spray disinfection method of Chinese medicine extract is better than 4% 84 disinfectant in killing bacteria, molds and other microorganisms in ordinary air, and the duration is also longer than 84 disinfectant. Chinese herbal fumigation disinfection is non-toxic and harmless, economical and safe, and can avoid some of the disadvantages of physical and chemical disinfection methods: such as damage to human eyes and skin caused by ultraviolet rays, harm to human body caused by ozone produced; damage to the environment caused by chemical disinfectants, strong irritation to human body, and corrosion to objects. In addition, Chinese herbal fumigation can avoid filth, refresh the mind, soothe emotions, and improve people's immunity to prevent epidemics. As early as during the SARS period in 2003, many hospitals in my country also used Chinese herbal fumigants for epidemic prevention. For example, the Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine used "Ai Cang San" for disinfection; the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University consumed a large amount of Atractylodes for daily disinfection; the Shenzhen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine also launched an "anti-cold and anti-epidemic fumigation preparation" - "Atractylodes lancea tincture" for the prevention and treatment of various viruses. In 2020, it was used in the daily prevention and treatment of Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital together with anti-cold sachets. When using fumigation or burning methods at home, you need to avoid the elderly, children, pregnant women, and people with respiratory diseases (such as pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, pulmonary obstruction, etc.), and pay attention to fire safety.