CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE



Chinese herbs are specifically used to create decoctions or "teas" and is a very powerful part of healing dis-ease. Herbal decoctions can also be given in "tea pills", tinctures, granules or as an external patch, compress or bath. Chinese herbal medicine uses several hundred substances, mostly of plant origin (roots, seeds, flowers, twigs, crystals, bones and barks). These are hardly ever prescribed singly.

They are combined into a formula, which usually contains between 8 and 12 ingredients. It is the "herbal synergy" that seems to be the strength behind Chinese herbal formulas. The exact combination is adjusted to suit the patient's individual condition, and is likely to be altered as the treatment progresses to take account of changes that have occurred. It is therefore a very flexible system, which can be closely developed to the needs of the patient.