What are the functions of medical herbal therapy preparations

The core function of medical herbal therapy preparations that are currently on the market after compliant clinical verification is to use standardized purified and processed medicinal plant active ingredients to achieve low-irritation targeted intervention in scenarios such as mild to moderate symptom intervention, postoperative repair, and long-term conditioning of chronic diseases. At the same time, it can reduce the metabolic burden caused by conventional chemical drugs to a certain extent.

When I was rotating in the dermatology clinic, I encountered many patients with sensitive skin who experienced redness and tingling during the change of seasons. Many of them did not dare to use hormone ointments before, for fear of rebound after discontinuing the medication, so they were prescribed medical herbal dressings containing active extracts of centella asiatica and purslane. Follow-up The probability of rebound is nearly 30% lower than that of patients who only use weak hormones. An old patient with repeated allergies for 4 years adhered to the treatment course for 2 months, and the skin barrier thickness increased by an average of 16% in the retest. Later, the season changed and there was rarely any large-scale redness.

Speaking of controversy, there are actually different voices in the industry. Some clinicians with a Western medicine background believe that the active ingredients of herbal preparations are complex and the risk of allergy is more difficult to predict than single-component chemical drugs. I have previously encountered a patient who was allergic to topical artemisinin-based herbal preparations. After applying it for 15 minutes, he developed large urticaria, which was finally suppressed by antihistamines. However, scholars who conduct research on the transformation of traditional herbal medicines generally believe that as long as they are medical-grade herbal preparations that have undergone strict toxicology tests and quantified active ingredients, they can solve the drug resistance problems faced by many chemical drugs. In a previous controlled trial conducted by the gastroenterology department of a tertiary hospital, patients with Helicobacter pylori infection were treated with oral herbal preparations containing astragalus and clove extracts on the basis of conventional quadruple therapy. The eradication rate could be increased from the conventional 72% to 89%, and the intestinal flora disorder caused by antibiotics could also be reduced.

In fact, to use a very popular analogy, conventional chemical drugs are like precision-guided missiles that go straight to the lesion to solve the problem, but they will inevitably affect the surrounding normal tissues, while qualified medical herbal preparations are more like a combat team equipped with a logistical auxiliary team. Different active ingredients cooperate with each other to solve the core symptoms while replenishing and repairing the surrounding normal tissues. The side effects are relatively smaller. However, I would like to mention that what we are talking about here are all medical-grade products that have gone through the medical device or national drug approval process. Those Sanwu products that are sold casually on the Internet and are called "pure herbal" are not included. Previously, a patient purchased the Internet celebrity herbal acne cream online. After using it for half a month, his face was so swollen that he could not open his eyes. When he sent it for testing, he discovered that a large dose of powerful hormones had been secretly added to it, which is not the same thing as regular medical herbal preparations.

The indications of this type of preparations are still being broadened. However, for current clinical use, it is still necessary to follow the doctor's advice and do not buy it yourself. After all, everyone's tolerance and indications are different, and the appropriate one can have the greatest effect.