Questions on Part 1 of Course F

Dear Dr. Miraculous Hands,

Following are my questions:

1. Does normally a TCM doctor list ingredients in a formula in the order of principal herbs, assistant herbs, adjuvant herbs and guiding herbs ?

2. Can microwave be used for heating a decoction of herbs and/or preparation of a decoction ?

3. Are the names of the formulas listed in the course are more or less standard in TCM. Can I expect that for the same name, the ingredients and their compositions are about the same from different sources or text book?

4. Many ingredients listed in this course are not included in Course E such as Lophatherum in Qingying Tang (Chapter 5, Section 2). What are the properties of this herb?

5. What is the best formula for treatment of seasonal conjunctivitis possibly caused wind heat and dampness marked by eye watering, red eye and dry skin around the eyes

6. In Shizao Tang formula, what is the meaning of 10 chineses-dates ? Does 10 mean 10 pieces of chinese dates?

Thanks-Nam

-----------------------------------

Nam Le
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:15 am    

[quote:35e9667388="Nam Le"]Dear Dr. Miraculous Hands,

Following are my questions:

1. Does normally a TCM doctor list ingredients in a formula in the order of principal herbs, assistant herbs, adjuvant herbs and guiding herbs ?

2. Can microwave be used for heating a decoction of herbs and/or preparation of a decoction ?

3. Are the names of the formulas listed in the course are more or less standard in TCM. Can I expect that for the same name, the ingredients and their compositions are about the same from different sources or text book?

4. Many ingredients listed in this course are not included in Course E such as Lophatherum in Qingying Tang (Chapter 5, Section 2). What are the properties of this herb?

5. What is the best formula for treatment of seasonal conjunctivitis possibly caused wind heat and dampness marked by eye watering, red eye and dry skin around the eyes

6. In Shizao Tang formula, what is the meaning of 10 chineses-dates ? Does 10 mean 10 pieces of chinese dates?

Thanks-Nam[/quote:35e9667388]


Dear Nam,
Let's make clear your questions.
1). For sure no any physician of traditional Chinese medicine would confine which ingredients are the principal ones, which are the assistant ones, etc. in any formula.
2). To heat the well-decocted herbs, microwave can be used, but so far, I have no idea if the microwave is good for preparing the herbs.
3). All the names of formulas listed in the text are the standard ones, or I can say they are authentical, including their compositions and ingredients.
4). It's true that some herbs in some formulas are not listed in the text, in fact, it's the same situation in regard of the textbooks of Chinese materia medica published in Chinese, because in ancient time, some herbs might be otfen in use while nowadays they are not, so they are excluded from the textbooks of the materia medica.
Lophatherum is the bamboo, it's sweet, tasteless, and cold; and moves to the heart, lung and stomach meridians. It's a heat clearing herb.
5). I cannot give you any advice, for I do need to see the patient, to see the tongue and feel the pulse.
6). It's another name for Chinese jujube, and for sure it's 10 pieces of the jujube used in the formula.
Hope my answers are clear enough.

---------------------------------

miraculous hands

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 3:33 am