Back to School: Stay Healthy with Herbal Medicine (Part 3)

I figured it was finally time to post the long-awaited part 3 of our discussions on herbal formulas to help keep you healthy this fall and winter season.

Today, we'll be looking at Yin Qiao San, also called Honeysuckle and Forsythia Powder. This is a formula we need use when a patient develops fever and slight chills, headache, thirst, cough, and sore throat. In fact, Yin Qiao San is typically one of the first formulas considered when a patient complains of sore throat. 

This formula is used for what we call a Wind-Heat attack. The pathogen will typically enter the nose and mouth and directly damage the Qi of the Lungs. It also constrains the diffusion of protective Qi in the skin and muscle layer. That constraint of the protective Yang Qi causes fever, and if the pathogen remains on the exterior, it will also block and prevent sweating. If the dissemination of Lung Qi is blocked, a could will develop. When heat damages the body's fluids, there will be thirst. Since the throat is "the door to the Lungs," heat from constraint will cause itchy and sore throat; if the heat remains it will transform into "heat toxin," causing pain and inflammation.

Here's a quick breakdown of the ingredients:

Jin Yin Hua (Honeysuckle Flower) and Lian Qiao (Forsythia Fruit) are the chief ingredients and they release the exterior, clear heat from the Lungs, and resolve toxicity. Jie Geng (Platycodon Root) and Niu Bang Zi (Arctium Seed) spread the Lung Qi and benefit the throat. Bo He (Mint), Dan Dou Chi (Prepared Soybean), and Jing Jie (Schizonopeta Bud) aid the chief herbs in releasing exterior heat. Dan Zhu Ye (Lophatherum Leaves), Lu Gen (Reed), and Gan Cao (Licorice Root) generate fluids and alleviate thirst. Gan Cao and Jie Geng are also an effective combination for treating sore throat.

According to Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies: with the appropriate presentation, the formula may be used to treat a wide variety of throat and lung disorders, primarily involving acute respiratory tract infections like the common cold, influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia, and tonsilitis, but also measles, mumps, meningitis, and encephalitis B.