Nausea and Hangover Formula

I thought some of the Chinese medicine people out there might like to learn of this simple but effective formula for treating nausea and hangovers. Success from this formula occurred after administering, to no effect, Guangci Tang's (hereafter GCT) Wen Dan Pian for nausea associated with migraines. The 29 yo female's migraine expression (anomalously on the left) had been effectively relieved with acupuncture and GCT's Shaofu Zhuyu Pian.

GCT Wen Dan Pian focuses on resolving phlegm with ancillary action of detoxing and regulating the liver. Its ingredients are listed below:

zhi ban xia
zhu ru
chen pi
fu ling
lian qiao
jin yin hua
yu jin
zhi shi

The formula I switched to comes from a book published in 1999 by Chinese Medical Technologies Publisher (zhongguo yiyao keji chuban she, 中国医药科技出版社）, entitled Tea Remedies Herbal Foods (cha liao yao shan, 茶疗药膳）. In it is a chapter on various formulas that are appropriate for the seasons. Therein, I found a formula under "spring," that I felt was worth giving a try. The ingredients are listed below:

green tea
shi hu
xiang yuan/fo shou
ge gen

The text notes that the formula "clears heat, generates fluids, calms the stomach, clears food stagnation, detoxes alcohol (xing jiu, 醒酒) and resolves irritability." It goes on to boast, "It can frequently constitute the most ideal beverage for detoxing alcohol. For resolving the difficulties of spring, its efficacy is particularly apparent (p.128). "

Even though it is listed last among ingredients, interestingly ge-gen, which we know by its Japanese name kudzu, begins the short discussion on herb function. Practical knowledge around ge-gen has shown it to have positive effects on hangovers. Research has shown that ge-gen reduces alcohol craving and diminishes the quantity of alcohol consumed. These properties informed my selection of this formula from among eight others for the treating of spring disorders because my patient expresses concern over her keenness for alcohol, which she consumes daily in an amount that would likely be considered unremarkable in France or Italy. As an herb whose action focuses powerfully on the yang-ming channel, ge-gen is a very sensible selection, particularly in light of ban-xia and zhu-ru's disappointing performance for her.

Just for the record, I didn't use fo-shou, rather I swapped it out for some top-notch chen-pi that I picked and dried myself. Also, all the ingredients were ground into a powder and the patient was instructed to take three to five grams before going to bed and anytime she felt nauseated.

I understand that there may be some difficulty in sourcing shi-hu. Among the yin tonics, it is deceptively similar to the diuretic tong-cao given it's styrofoam nature. Han-lian cao is non-cloying, but it is a much grassier substitution. Other possible substitutions, like mai men dong, sha-shen, or yu-zhu, if selected, should probably be used in their prepared granulated form instead of raw. Under no circumstances would I consider sheng-di an appropriate substitution because of its heaviness. I personally would probably use tian-hua-fen as a substitution because it also generates fluids, is non-cloying, grinds up easily, and has virtually no taste--thus fewer complaints! Also, since phlegm is a principle cause of nausea, tian-hua-fen appears a particularly appropriate substitute.

Finally, the question regarding the actual meaning of "spring disorders" looms, particularly in light of my administering the formula in July. Of course, we know that constitutionally speaking we all lean toward expressing a certain "season." The problem is that I don't practice "constitutional acupuncture." It's way over my head. The diagnosis of "liver over acting on spleen," sounds logical, but there's such a laundry list of conditions that fall under this diagnosis that I'm altogether skeptical of its existence. In other words, I very much doubt that the above formula could be administered for the sundry cases called, "liver over acting" with any degree of benefit, unless we are specifically speaking upon nausea. Still, the association of alcohol with liver and ge-gen's proven effect on alcohol points to it as a possible lynchpin herb for balancing the yang-ming, jue-yin, shao-yang, tai-yin quadriad. Considering the complementary herbs of green tea and fo-shou, this speculative assertion seems reasonable.