Nasal/Sinus Formula: Relief from Allergies and Congestion

Ingredients:

Chai hu – Bupleurum chinense root

Huang qin – Scutellaria baicalensis root

Ban xia – Pinellia ternata rhizome (treated)

Sheng jiang – Zingiber officinale root (fresh)

Da zao – Zisiphus jujuba fruit

Xin yi hua – Magnolia liliflora bud

Cang er zi – Xanthium sibiricum fruit

Bai zhi – Angelica dahurica root

Shi chang pu – Acorus gramineus rhizome

Jie geng – Platycodon grandiflorum root

Ju hua – Chrysanthemum morifolium flower

Ge gen – Pueraria lobata root

Sheng gan cao – Glycyrrhiza uralensis root

Pu gong ying – Taraxacum officinale root and leaf (tinctured fresh)

Water

Ethanol

Honey

Effects:

Reduce or eliminate symptoms of seasonal allergies, especially runny or stuffed nose.  Resolve long-lasting cold whose main residual symptom is stuffy nose and blocked sinus.

Dosage:

Standard dose is four full squirts of the dropper, twice a day.  For some people the standard dose is overly drying; if you find this is the case for you, try a smaller dose until you hit upon the right dose for you.  If you predictably suffer from seasonal allergies, combine with Jade Defense and begin this regimen a month or so ahead of your allergy season – three squirts Jade Defense and one squirt Nasal/Sinus Formula, twice a day.  For snotty colds and sinus infections, combine with Virus Killer (forthcoming from Green Monkey Pharmacy).  The best way to take this formula is to squirt the tincture directly into your mouth and hold it in your mouth for maximum buccal absorption so that some of the anti-allergy components in the herbs can directly enter the affected tissues of the face, bypassing the general circulation.  This is one formula that I don't recommend thinning down in boiled water; you don't want to boil off the volatile components that give it much of its anti-allergy power.

Product Description:

This formula is built on Xiao Chai Hu Tang (“Minor Bupleurum Decoction”) from the Shang Han Lun or “Treatise on Cold Damage,” one of the earliest (220 CE) and most famous books of Chinese medicine.  The original formula was designed to treat the shaoyang or “lesser yang” stage of a disease, when a pathogen has neither completely penetrated the body’s defenses nor been successfully fended off.  This “not in, not out” status describes allergies and unresolved colds, making this an ideal formula for treating both.

The original formula consists of chai hu (bupleurum), huang qin (scutellaria), ban xia (pinellia), sheng jiang (fresh ginger), ren shen (ginseng root), da zao (jujube date) and zhi gan cao (cured licorice root).  In my version I substitute dang shen (codonopsis) for ginseng and uncured licorice for cured licorice, and add a number of other herbs to make the formula more effective for nasal and sinus symptoms.  Xiao Chai Hu Tang is an energetically very interesting formula.  The main herb, chai hu, is cool and outthrusting, making it effective for clearing a pathogen (whether virus or pollen) from the in-between zone where it resides.  Chai hu also moves stagnant qi, making it a good herb for soothing the out-of-sorts feeling that an allergy or head cold can produce.  Huang qin is a major heat-clearing and dampness-drying herb that pairs nicely with chai hu to vent the pathogen in a shaoyang-type disorder.  Huang qin also pairs well with ban xia, which is one of the major herbs for treating phlegm of all types.  Interestingly, in light of its inclusion in this allergy formula, recent research shows that one of the major components of huang qin, known as baicalein, inhibits mast cells and therefore minimizes histamine release and allergy symptoms.  The remaining herbs in the original formula – sheng jiang, ren shen/dang shen, da zao, and sheng gan cao – strengthen the qi to help keep the pathogen from penetrating further.  The da zao and sheng gan cao also serve to balance the drying nature of ban xia and some of the other herbs that I add to the original formula.

Since this is a remedy for allergies and lingering colds with predominantly nasal symptoms such as stuffiness and runny nose, I have added additional herbs for this purpose.  Xin yi hua (magnolia bud), cang er zi (cocklebur), and bai zhi (angelica dahurica root) are the trinity typically employed for this purpose, to which I add shi chang pu (acorus rhizome).  Shi chang pu is traditionally used to “open the portals” of the sensory organs in heavy-duty conditions like seizures and disorientation.  In larger doses it is mildly psychoactive; in our smaller dose it serves as one more opener of the nose and sinuses.  Next year I will add silver beach bur, the local coastal ragweed, which like its other ragweed cousins is excellent for treating the very allergies its copious pollens produce in many people (as of today it hasn’t flowered yet, and I prefer the idea of using the flowering plant rather than just the foliage).

Finally, ju hua (chrysanthemum), jie geng (platycodon), ge gen (kudzu root), and fresh tincture of dandelion were added.  Ju hua addresses the itchy and dry eyes that accompany many allergies.  Jie geng together with the licorice directs the formula to the throat region, which is often itchy and irritated.  Ge gen directs the formula to the regions of the nose and sinuses, and, together with sheng gan cao and da zao, helps to offset the drying nature of the formula.  Pu gong ying (dandelion) is added not because it is an anti-allergy herb per se (although, together with the ju hua and huang qin, it is useful for hot red itchy eyes), but because it is a premier liver herb and spring is the season of the liver so it supports this organ during the season that it is most stressed.  I am not as gung ho about “detoxifying” as many in the alternative medicine community, but in this context of seasonal allergies I do believe that it is useful to add a detoxifying herb like dandelion to the mix, to make the formula work better.

Production Notes:

3.75 liters of an alcohol-water blend was slowly percolated through 1.25 kilogram of pre-moistened ground-up herbs to produce about 3 liters of tincture.  200 ml of dandelion fresh tincture was added directly to the resulting tincture.  Strength of the final tincture is about 1:2.5. 

Something Else You Can Do to Treat Allergies and Stuffy Nose:

When they find out that you suffer from allergies, about 95% of people in Santa Cruz will immediately tell you to use a neti pot.  For the small minority of readers who are unfamiliar with the neti pot, it is essentially a small pitcher designed to pour warm salt water through your nostrils to flush out your nasal passages.  Generally, I think this is good advice for people suffering from allergies, since the salty water flushes through the nasal cavity and nasopharynx where pollens and other allergens can adhere.  I prefer to use a plastic squeeze bottle rather than the traditional neti pot, since with the squeeze bottle you have the advantage of being able to force the saline through your sinuses and nasal passages with some pressure.  For colds, I find the nasal flush more useful towards the end of a stuffy-nosed cold – it’s really satisfying to see those deposits of snot getting flushed out.  In my experience, at the beginning of a stuffy-nosed cold, using the neti pot just makes me more stuffed up.  If you are new to the neti pot, have someone show you how to do it, or Google “neti pot” on the Internet – there are hundreds of people out there who are very excited to share the technique with you.