Talking About "Ointment Formulas" in Autumn and Winter
Ointment formulas are concentrated preparations made by selecting various herbs according to individual constitution and illness needs, boiled multiple times and condensed. Winter tonic supplementation is a traditional health-preserving method in China, capable of both treating diseases and tonifying deficiencies, with broad applications. Anyone suffering from chronic conditions such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, gastric pain, enteritis, visceral prolapse, menstrual disorders in women, uterine prolapse, menopausal syndrome, infertility in men and women, sexual dysfunction, elderly lumbar and leg pain, nephritis, postoperative blood deficiency, postpartum or post-illness qi-blood deficiency, declining vision, etc., can be treated with ointment formulas during winter. Ointment formulas typically start from Start of Winter and continue until Start of Spring. Take once or twice daily. Consistent use is essential—the longer the duration, the stronger the constitution becomes.
Modern “sub-health” populations especially benefit from ointment therapy. Long-term overwork with relatively reduced physical consumption, irregular diet, smoking, excessive drinking, or unstructured lifestyles gradually lead to reduced vitality, weakened constitution, easy fatigue, chest tightness, shortness of breath, mood swings, irritability, decreased appetite, abdominal distension, lower back and knee soreness, leg weakness, reduced libido, dizziness, tinnitus, difficulty sleeping or falling asleep easily, frequent colds... Although medical tests may show normal results or borderline indicators, no definitive diagnosis emerges. This “sub-health” state is often untreatable in Western medicine, but often yields surprising results with TCM and herbal therapy.
TCM typically identifies sub-health states as primarily deficiency syndromes. Based on individual symptoms, age, medical history, climate, lifestyle, work environment, and mental state, comprehensive analysis determines whether the deficiency leans toward yin, yang, qi, or blood deficiency. Then, assess the involvement of the five zang organs (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney), their interrelationships, the yin-yang relationship between zang and fu, and the internal-external connections of meridians. Finally, a personalized prescription is formulated.
TCM believes correcting sub-health states primarily depends on establishing healthy and rational living habits, appropriate exercise and physical activity, managing emotions and mental state, supplemented by medication. Winter is the ideal season for regulation because winter is when essence is stored in the kidneys. Abundant kidney essence provides solid material foundation, enhancing constitution and vitality, sufficient to reverse sub-health back to health. Preparing an ointment formula and consuming it throughout winter is like “fueling” and “charging” the body—just as the saying goes, “tonify in winter, fight like a tiger next year.”