What’s In the Back-To-School Herbal Kit?

Through Oct 15 we’re offering you a Back-to-School herbal kit with three patent remedies for just $20.

“Patent” remedies are easily available in China where they are household medicinals. Patents are similar to many of our over-the-counter medicines. Most patents are centuries old formulas, and as such are tried and true recipes for healing common ailments. Most patents contain very safe herbs, and all of the ones in this kit are safe for children. A normal adult dosage is 8 little pills three times a day. (One of my good friends calls them “the eights“.) For children, reduce the dose by at least half, if not less. Patents are inexpensive and convenient.

Here’s what’s in your back-to-school kit:

Gan mao ling: This is a standard formula used in the early stages of a common cold. When you feel that pre-cold achiness, fatigue, beginning sore throat & stuffy nose, that’s the time to take gan mao ling. Unlike “the eights” this remedy comes in a bottle of 100 flat tablets. Recommended dosage is 3-6 tablets 3 times per day. I prefer to have my patients take 2-4 tablets every four hours when they are symptomatic, and then resume the dose as directed on the bottle once they feel a little better. Gan mao ling may not cure the common cold, but many people do think it alleviates their symptoms.

If the cold develops into stronger symptoms with a fever, then you’ll need more than gan mao ling.

 

Curing Pills: Curing pills are famous. This is one of the patent remedies Americans are more familiar with. They are easy to get and are good traveling companions. They are used for all kinds of minor digestive problems, like motion sickness, over eating, plain old tummy aches. Curing pills are very safe. The herbs in them are said to disperse accumulation, or excess in the stomach. They are used in much the same way we use Tums. People looking for an herbal option will want to try curing pills. This is one of the remedies I always packed family for vacations or feasts.

Although the dosage on the bottle recommends 2-3 capsules 3X/day, most of the time this remedy is taken as needed. Three or four capsules after eating or when you have a stomach ache may provide relief. These pills also are not in the eight-pill format. They come as gel caps containing many tiny pills. this makes it easy to reduce the dose to half a capsule for young children who are old enough to swallow tiny pills.

 

An Shen Bu Xin Teapills: While this patent is often put into the sleep-aid category, it is not a sedative or sleeping pill. An shen bu xin teapills “calm the spirit,” which is an Asian idea of settling the system. Shen, loosely translated as “spirit,” is considered to be a very real part of our total beings. The spirit, or Shen, needs to be rooted in its proper place in order for us to have a sense of peace and well-being. If the Shen is disturbed, it can cause anxiety and insomnia. Calming the Shen allows us to sleep peacefully at night and maintain a sense of calmness throughout the day. An Mian Pian contains herbs that are said to settle the spirit.

An Shen Bu Xin Dan pills are true “eights”. However, as with other patents, the dosage on the bottle may be changed. I recommend patients who have insomnia to take a dose before bed and then take eight to twelve more if they wake up in the night. People with anxiety may find it helpful to take them as directed throughout the day.

These patents are excellent choices for your medicine cabinet. They are good to have on hand in the right situation. These herbs may work well with western medications, but they will not replace them. Think of them as aids to help with minor day-to-day problems, not as herbs to cure illness.

Needless to say, anyone suffering from serious respiratory difficulty, stomach problems, anxiety or insomnia should consult their physician promptly.