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dosage guidelines and cautions (Chinese Herbs)
Chinese herbs
chinese formulae

definition

Dosage:
Dosages of herbs in Chinese herb formulas are variable depending on the severity of the condition, the condition and constitution of the patient, and the experience and tradition of the practitioner. In actual usage, formulas are often modified, combined or simplified by the experienced practitioner to better fit the individual case. The less experienced practitioner usually follows the guidelines of the traditional sources, if anything erring on the side of caution. Remember, it is possible to cause iatrogenic disease with Chinese herbs.
In general, it is said that Japanese and American practitioners tend to use smaller dosages than Chinese practitioners. This may be for the reason that our patients tend to have more delicate constitutions, accustomed as we are to central heating, driving rather than walking, etc. It is also generally true that China’s higher quality herbs are usually exported to Japan and to the West, so perhaps a smaller amount is needed to arrive at the same therapeutic results.
The dosages indicated in the Chinese Formulae Materia Medica are drawn from various sources. A recommended range is often given in the literature; the dosages given here err on the side of caution.
Most formulas are given with the dosages appropriate for a decoction. Chinese herbal decoctions are brewed to be strong, and there are a number of traditions which each have their individual recipes for the cooking process. The interested reader is referred to Subhuti Dharmananda’s discussion of this subject in Chinese Herbology, pp. 66-73, and Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble’s discussion in Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, pp. 17-21.

Cautions and Contraindications:
One of the greatest strengths of Chinese herbal therapeutics is its elegance of diagnosis: its refinement of the ability to take a symptom or a disorder and analyze it by differentiation of syndrome to arrive at the most specific and accurate etiology/syndrome picture. The more specific the diagnosis, the more specific the therapy may be. Therefore, proper prescribing depends on the practitioner’s ability to understand both the roots and the branches of the patient’s complaints. We have provided some information on differentiation of syndrome as part of the discussion of the various diseases. In some cases, there are specific cautions which are given with an individual formula in the Materia Medica; for instance, in treating diarrhea, give a cooling formula to someone with hot-type diarrhea, but not to someone with cold-type diarrhea. In cases with special conditions, such as pregnancy, it is best to individually research the qualities and contraindications of each individual herb, as well as of the formula as a whole; Bensky and Gamble’s Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica has a wealth of this type of information, and a good amount may also be found in Dharmananda’s Chinese Herbology and Yeung’s Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas, volume I.


footnotes