Treat winter diseases in summer, and apply "Sanfutie" during the dog days

This is the 2640th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

The dog days of summer are coming, and the "Three-Fu Sticker" is on the stage. So what is the "Three-Fu Sticker"? What are the indications for the Three-Fu Sticker? How to deal with adverse reactions after application? And what are the precautions for application? Let me briefly analyze it for you.

What is "Sanfutie"?

The dog days are the hottest time of the year. During this time, the yin energy is forced to hide underground, so it is called "fu". Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "fu evil" causes disease. External evil invades the human body's skin surface, causing fever, chills, headaches and other symptoms. As the pathogenic evil continues to penetrate deeper, or due to improper treatment or misdiagnosis, the external evil hides deep in the human body, eventually forming a situation where "fu evil will turn into tuberculosis if it is not awakened". During the dog days, the yang energy of nature and the yang energy of the lung meridian of the human body reach their peaks. Sanfutie uses the rising yang energy of nature, selects specific acupoints based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, and guides the evil out with the help of drugs, thereby playing a therapeutic role.

Indications of Sanfutie

The traditional indications of Sanfutie are respiratory diseases of deficiency and cold, such as asthma, cough, chronic bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, recurrent colds, etc. In modern clinical practice, Sanfutie is widely used, such as pediatric diarrhea, intractable diarrhea, gastrointestinal disorders and other spleen and stomach diseases, as well as rheumatic pain, dysmenorrhea, perimenopausal yang deficiency and other yang deficiency and cold dampness syndromes. It should be avoided or used with caution for patients with obvious lung heat and lung yin deficiency. Patients with yin deficiency may suffer from acute onset or aggravation of the disease after applying Sanfutie.

Drug selection for Sanfutie

Sanfutie is generally made of pungent and warm medicines that can dissipate heat and dampness and easily penetrate the skin. Among them, white mustard, asarum, kansui, yanhusuo, ginger, cinnamon, etc. are commonly used medicines for Sanfutie.

Skin reactions to Sanfutie

① Most people who apply Sanfutie will experience local skin pigmentation, which will disappear on its own after a few days.

② If small blisters appear at the application site, generally no special treatment is required and they can be absorbed naturally. If larger blisters appear, they can be punctured with a sterilized needle to drain the tissue fluid and disinfect the local skin to promote healing.

③ If redness and swelling occur at the application site, apply dermatitis ointment or the like to relieve the symptoms; those with skin ulcers should keep the ulcer surface clean, avoid scratching, and apply erythromycin ointment, Bio-Benefit ointment, etc.

④ If you experience large-scale and severe skin erythema, itching, blisters or systemic skin allergies, you should go to the hospital for treatment in time.

Precautions for Sanfutie

①Bathe or clean the area before applying to prevent excessive sweating;

② Before and after the application, the diet should be light, and avoid eating raw, cold, fish, shrimp, crab, and spicy foods;

③ On the day of application, open the windows to keep the air flowing smoothly, and avoid direct exposure to air conditioners or fans on the application area;

④ People with allergic or damaged skin, pregnant women, and patients with severe cardiopulmonary diseases should not apply the patch;

⑤ It is best to make and use up the plaster on the same day or store it in a refrigerator or in a cool and dry place.

References

[1] Zhang Sijie, Ou Jiangqin. Theoretical basis and application of Sanfutie for preventing diseases[J]. Chinese Journal of Basic Medicine in Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2019, 25(04):519-521.

[2] Su Ben, Lu Ming, Zhang Qianlu, et al. Study on the mechanism and application of Sanfutie [J]. Jiangsu Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2019, 51(9): 51-52.

[3] Liu Honghua, Ouyang Lizhi, Ge Junyun, et al. A brief analysis of the theoretical basis and clinical application of Sanfu moxibustion [J]. Chinese Acupuncture, 2020, 40(7):746-748.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital Pharmacy Cosinbo