Digest Number 1596

[Guest guest]

Instead of just snuffing up water, can't you use one of those ear bulbs,.

Aspirate up the liquid (I was taught salt water solution but you may know

better), rinse each nostril, tilting bulb to get all sinus passages and let

drain down throat and spit out. It kee[s moisture in sinus during winter for me

when artificial heat dries them out--cuts down on nose bleeds. I use about a

10# solution sea salt/distilled h2o or just buy saline. ]

Karen

[Guest guest]

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Re: Black Cohosh monograph

 

> Black Cohosh

 

> Qi and Flavor: bitter, acrid, slightly sweet, slightly cool

 

why cool? I don't see strong justification for this. could you share your

rationale?

 

Black Cohosh is considered cool by every (I believe it was every, although

there may have been one or another source that disagreed) source I looked at

including ethnobotanical info. Its actions surely speak for themselves. One

of the Eclectic uses for this herb was to use it for " eruptive fevers " ,

mealse and pox. Also it as a long standing use for rheumatism, a hot

condition in the older texts.

 

 

> Moves qi, quickens the blood and transforms stasis for qi stagnation or

> blood stasis causing amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain, flank pain,

> mastitis and chest impediment.

 

Are these western uses, or those of chinese cimicifuga (sheng ma) or both?

I

know black cohosh is used for bearing down sensations and its ability to

dispel

wind damp also confirms an uplifting action. I would say it also relieves

liver

constraint. this combination of lifting spleen qi, dispelling wind damp

and/or

relieving liver constraint is seen in a number of exterior releasing herbs

including fang feng, ge gen, qiang huo, bai zhi, bo he, chuan xiong.

 

 

Yes these are Western uses for this particular species. The above should

read, " qi stagnation WITH blood stasis " instead of OR. Thanks for picking

that out.

 

It likely does relieve liver constraint. However, I did not feel like this

was a primary action and although debated over that exact issue for YEARS I

have decided to leave it out. Perhaps that is a mistake, I will take full

responsibility for it. All materia medicas have mistakes in them, even the

Chinese ones. There are always disagreements over qi and nature of herbs

(not necessarily every one, but...).

 

 

 

Chinese Herbology and Acupuncture

acupuncture and herbal information

 

 

 

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Lao Tzu