QI - Regulating
CHAPTER 10 DRUGS FOR REGULATING QI
Drugs whose principal action is regulating the functional activities of qi and enabling qi to flow smoothly are called drugs for regulating qi.This class of drugs have the effects of promoting the flow of qi to relieve pain, regulating the activities of qi to check upward adverse flow of qi, or removing stagnation of qi to dissolve mass. They are indicated for stagnaiton of qi and reversed flow of qi due to disorder of the functional activities of qi such as distending pain in the hypochondrium and breasts, hernial pain and irregular menstruation due to stagnation of the liver-qi; distending pain in the stomach and abdomen, belching and acid regurgitation due to stagnation of the spleen-qi and stomach-qi; or distress in the chest and cough with syspnea due to impairment of the normal funciton of the lung in dispersing and descending qi; and neausea, vomiting and hiccup due to failure of the stomcach in descending stomach-qi. Drugs of this class can be selected for use together with other types of drug with regard to different syndromes. In cases of disorders of functional activities of qi due to obstruction of damp phlegm in the interior, drugs for elimianting Dampness and resolving phlegm should be added; in cases of disorders of functional activities of QI due to dyspepsia, the drug for regulating qi should be supplemented with drugs for promoting digestion; for disorders of fucntional activities of qi accompanied with hypofunction of the spleen and stomach, drugs for replenishing qi to invigoration the spleen should be added. Qi-regulating drugs are usually pungent and hot, and are apt to cause consumption of qi and yin. Therefore these drugs should be cautiously used for patients with deficiency of qi or deficiency of yin.