By John Steinke, L.Ac.
As often as not, illness and injury befall our patients on days or at times when we don’t have clinic. Sometimes, too, our patients call and tell us they can’t make their appointment because they’re sick or hurt. For these occasions, I recommend that my patients already have on hand a home medicine kit. They can get treatment even when I’m not there.
If we can get our patients to stock a small herbal pharmacy, we don’t have to tell them to take two aspirins and call us in the morning. We can help them to select from their medicine cabinet an herbal formula to begin providing immediate assistance.
Often, this aid will get quick results before the illness or injury really has the chance to take hold. We can save our patients from extended misery, including loss of work time, possible hospitalization, and the discomfort of their illness. We may even save their long-awaited vacation or event, earning their eternal gratitude.
Having your patients stock a medicine kit will help to build and maintain your practice. As we all know, Chinese herbs provide very effective treatments for many situations in which Western medicine only offers palliatives with side effects.
We’ve all taken cold remedies that alleviate symptoms, but cause drowsiness and don’t shorten the course of the illness. If your patients get great relief from a cold from an effective herbal formula, their trust in the medicine and your abilities will grow.
As part of my sports medicine practice, I teach a two-hour course on herbal formulas for the various injuries, aches, and pains of the regular athlete. My patients and their friends learn how to put together a medicine kit. They also learn when to self- prescribe and when to call me for assistance. The class improves my relationship with my patients and offers them more control over their medical care. This extra bit of education makes the medicine kit promotion work more effectively, and greatly increases the chance that the patient will get the best possible results.
While much of our herbal prescribing must exactly fit our patients’ symptom picture, many prepared formulas are more universal in application for common problems. From all of the available prepared formulas, it is very simple to pick out a good selection for your patients. I recommend that my patients have on- hand formulas for colds and flus, insomnia and anxiety, gastro-intestinal upset, and injuries. Health Concerns now offers a selection of four formulas, described below, that effectively cover these problems – Isatis Gold, Schisandra Dreams, Quiet Digestion, and Resinall K. Each comes in a convenient format and bottle size that should cover most situations. Unopened, these formulas have an extremely long shelf life of up to 3 years. Even when opened, they maintain their effectiveness, especially if they are refrigerated.
Self-prescribing with the formulas is safe and effective when simple guidelines are followed. For example, injury formulas are usually contraindicated in pregnancy and cases of excessive bleeding. Other formulas can produce mild side effects. I usually give my patients a sheet detailing situations in which the products are useful and a list of contraindications and possible reactions to the formulas. Many of your patients will give the potions to friends and relatives with great results, further spreading the acclaim our medicine deserves. Whenever they run out of one of their remedies, they will be back in touch with you or your clinic for more. But, we should strive to assure that the formulas are used safely and appropriately.
These formulas can be utilized for many more applications than their main indications. Schisandra Dreams is useful for anxiety as well as insomnia and is relied upon in many drug detox programs.
Besides treating injuries, Resinall K works well for foot fungus and dental hygiene. I use it whenever I get my teeth cleaned to reduce the pain of the procedure, prevent infection, and speed recovery from irritated tissues. Isatis Gold is very effective for infections other than colds and flus. A friend gave this formula to her sister and it quelled a urinary tract infection as well as the cold she was suffering. Quiet Digestion will assist hangover and jet lag, as well as treat gastrointestinal flu and stomach upset from overeating. I always take this formula along when traveling. Refer to your Health Concerns Clinical Handbook for more information on the broad variety of possible uses these formulas provide.
These formulas are so effective that I keep them on hand at my office and at home for my own use as well as for my patients and friends. I’ll keep a bottle open and get a patient started on his or her therapy right in the office at the time of the appointment. This creates good will and a positive framework for subsequent treatment. As you can see, the medicine kit concept is very useful in your ongoing clinical work, providing a source of income and means for maintaining a healthy practice.
John Steinke, L.Ac., specializes in Sports Acupuncture and he treats members of the San Francisco 49’er football team, and other professional athletes.
TRAVEL KIT
When you or your patients go traveling, a travel medicine kit would be a handy companion. You can take along the basic Health Concerns Medicine Kit and add the Artestatin and Aloe 22 formulas. These two formulas will be especially valuable for anybody traveling to an area with bad water or contaminated food. Artestatin treats acute infestations of parasites, malaria, and bacillary and amoebic dysentery. Aloe 22 also treats intestinal parasites, but is usually taken for chronic occurrences. It is effective for chronic constipation. You can take the formula as a preventive treatment while traveling and use it together with Artestatin in acute situations of intestinal infestation.
ABOUT DOSAGES
Health Concerns formulas come in bottles of capsules of powdered herbs or concentrated extracts. Recommended dosages of our formulas are listed on the product labels and explained in the product and clinical guides. These dosage levels are intended as guidelines. Individual practitioners may modify dosages, either increasing or lowering amounts to match patient needs. We suggest the following general guidelines.
— Please see the individual formula descriptions in the alphabetical product section of the Health Concerns Clinical Handbook for specific dosage information on each product, including contraindications to use.
— For acute situations and or critical diseases, the dosage can be increased to 4-5 capsules taken 3-4 times per day to produce more rapid results. Larger dosages, of course, should be monitored more carefully by the practitioner and are not usually consumed for more than a few days.
— For long-term therapy the patient can take 6-9 capsules daily of powdered capsules, or 2 to 4 of the extract capsules. Herbal use for such therapy is very safe, but you should reevaluate your therapy periodically to see if it is still appropriate.
— Dosage should be modified to consider the size and age of the patient. More herbal material may be necessary to treat larger patients. Smaller dosages should be given to children, smaller people, and older patients.
— Because of cost, convenience, safety concerns, and other factors, there is a tendency to take herbs at a dosage or for a length of time inadequate to produce results. A correct therapy or choice of herbs should not be discontinued. You should consider higher dosages, greater frequency, or longer examination if your reevaluation indicates you’ve selected the correct formula.
– An average daily dose of 9 capsules at 750 mg. each provides a total of 6.75 grams of powdered herbal material. Using a rough rule-of-thumb ratio of 7 to 1, this compares with giving a raw herb formula for decoction of about 47 grams or 18 chien of herbal matter.
MEDICINE KIT FORMULAS
Please consult the Health Concerns Clinical Handbook for detailed information about the formulas and a listing of their ingredients.
Quiet Digestion is an exceptional formula for relief from all kinds of intestinal distress, including indigestion and stomach flu. The formula comes in a 90-capsule bottle, providing a convenient form for use with occurrence of nausea, vomiting, bloating and diarrhea from Summerheat and overeating. The herbs in Quiet Digestion stop headache and bodyache, expel Wind-Heat, eliminate Dampness, regulate digestion, and disperse food mass. The formula is very safe and can be taken by children and by women during pregnancy for morning sickness. Chewing the pills provides faster action and even better results.
Isatis Gold is a combination of Western and Chinese herbs designed as an herbal antibiotic and antiviral. Echinacea, Goldenseal, and Chaparral are used in combination to reduce swellings, resolve phlegm, and treat inflammatory conditions of the upper respiratory tract. Isatis extract (Da Qing Ye and Ban Lan Gen) has been widely studied and used in China as a broad-spectrum antibiotic and antiviral agent. Platycodon (Jie Geng) is an anti- inflammatory herb that resolves phlegm, relieves cough, moistens the throat, and helps reduce pus. Chaparral is also an excellent phlegm-resolving herb. Platycodon and Ligusticum (Chuan Xiong) direct the formula to the upper body. Ligusticum also dispels Wind and treats sinus congestion, sore throats, and headaches. The formula is also effective for urinary tract infections.
Schisandra Dreams incorporates a new herb, Kava Kava, into the Chinese pharmacopeia. Kava Kava is a warm, spicy herb for nourishing the Heart and calming the Spirit, helping to provide deep, restful sleep and peaceful dreams. Kava Kava is combined in the formula with herbs that sedate the spirit, Oystershell (Mu Li) and Dragonbone (Long Gu). Schisandra (Wu Wei Zi) has been shown to normalize cerebral discharges and regulate the breathing center. The formula is helpful in cases of insomnia when patients waken frequently at night with difficulty breathing. Oystershell and Dragonbone contain calcium carbonate in a form that reduces muscular tension and helps treat ulcers. schisandra Dreams can therefore be taken to reduce anxiety in stressful situations.
Resinall K is a Blood-vitalizing formula for the treatment of traumatic injuries. Most of the ingredients depend on resinous compounds for their analgesic and healing effects. Frankincense (Ru Xiang) and Myrrh (Mo Yao) are especially useful for damaged tissues. Catechu (A Xian Yao) and Calamus (Xue Jie) treat hemorrhage and pain. Pini Resina (Song Jie Xiang) treats local congestion of blood. Kava Kava, a new herb to Chinese medicine, relaxes muscles, sedates anxiety, and is an analgesic topically. The alcohol in Resinall K serves a traditional function in an injury formula to bring the effects of the herbs strongly to the exterior. The liquid form of Resinall K provides for rapid administration and easy absorption. Because the resins have strong antiseptic action against bacteria and fungi, topical application of the formula is useful in a broad spectrum of skin disorders.
**Above formulas listing Kava kava have been reformulated.
SPORTS MEDICINE KIT
From the Health Concerns line, you can put together a sports medicine kit. Appropriate formulas would include the following. Be sure to consult your Health Concerns Clinical Handbook to determine which formula is appropriate for which situation. If you have questions, you can call the Health Concerns Herbal Helpline at 1-510-639-0280.
Resinall K – musculoskeletal and internal injuries, athlete’s foot
Crampbark Plus – internal injuries
Astra H – internal injuries
Astra C – internal treatment for burns
Astra Garlic – inflammation with any injury
AC-Q – lower body injury with weakness, head injury