It was in the past a disease greatly feared by the Foochows. When a man suffering from asthma was looking for a wife, the match maker had to find many ways to encourage a potential bride to marry him. Some with property were able to marry hardworking wives and led a blissful married life. Others lived short lives. In those days asthma was considered an incurable disease.
Modern western doctors prescribe ventolin to their asthma patients.
Chinese traditional practitioners and barefoot doctors recommend different ways of brewing the asthma plant, euphorbia hirta which is an annual herb found in most gardens. Usually at home, a few stalks are steamed together with some cinnamon stalks. This tea is taken from time to time to warm up the body of the asthma sufferer.
On Sundays one can also buy bundles of this herb in the wet market.
"This annual herb can grow up to 60 cm (24 in) long with a solid, hairy stem that produces an abundant white latex.[5] There are stipules present. The leaves are simple, elliptical, hairy (on both upper and lower surfaces but particularly on the veins on the lower leaf surface), with a finely dentate margin. Leaves occur in opposite pairs on the stem. The flowers are unisexual and found in axillary cymes at each leaf node. They lack petals and are generally on a stalk. The fruit is a capsules with three valves and produces tiny, oblong, four-sided red seeds. It has a white or brown taproot."
In India it is used traditionally for female disorders, respiratory ailments (cough, coryza, bronchitis, and asthma), worm infestations in children, dysentery, jaundice, pimples, gonorrhea, digestive problems, and tumors. (Pharmacognosy Review)
Disclaimer : Friends have told me they have used the herbal tea at home but they only said that there was some relief in breathing.
Furthermore, I have no documentation from any one to support this. Please ask a Chinese sinseh if you wish to know more about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment