🌿 Folk Prescriptions

When people hear “uremia,” they immediately think of hemodialysis and kidney transplantation. But these are expensive, and most patients cannot afford them; currently, they are not widely available in China. Traditional Chinese medicine, however, has a history of thousands of years in treating uremia, forming a unique set of therapeutic methods whose effectiveness has been recognized worldwide. Below are seven TCM methods for treating uremia.
1. Oral Administration of Chinese Herbs
Uremia is a chronic, complex condition with varying stages. Treatment must be tailored to disease characteristics through syndrome differentiation. Commonly used herbs include Astragalus membranaceus, Aconite, Cordyceps, Epimedium, Morinda officinalis, Pinellia ternata, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Plantago asiatica, Perilla frutescens, Coptis chinensis, Rheum palmatum, Peach and Safflower, Angelica sinensis, Safflower. These herbs can tonify the body, invigorate blood, expel pathogens without harming the healthy qi, promote new growth, improve renal blood flow, reduce serum urea nitrogen and creatinine levels, correct acidosis, significantly alleviate clinical symptoms, enhance metabolism and immune function, accelerate toxin excretion, prevent further glomerular damage, inhibit rise in urea nitrogen and creatinine, and promote hemoglobin elevation.
2. Acupoint Plaster Application
Coarsely grind raw rhubarb, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Motherwort, Coix seed, Ligusticum, and Euphorbia, mix evenly, soak in sesame oil, simmer in a clay pot until paste-like. Apply to Kidney俞 (BL23) and Guanyuan (CV4) acupoints. The drug penetrates through the skin and stimulates the acupoints, directly affecting the kidney via meridians, achieving warming the kidney, activating collaterals, promoting urination, and clearing turbidity. This method is widely used clinically, with advantages including bypassing gastrointestinal absorption and avoiding gastrointestinal reactions.
3. Herbal Enema
This method has a certain colonic dialysis effect and is an important pathway for removing nitrogenous waste. It supplements oral medication, especially suitable for patients unable to take oral drugs. Typically, use rhubarb, aconite, oyster shell, poria, dandelion to clear the bowels and expel toxins, inhibit protein breakdown, increase intestinal motility, prevent absorption of intestinal toxins, promote excretion of toxic substances, thereby reducing the burden on remaining renal units, controlling increases in serum creatinine and urea nitrogen.
4. Umbilical Therapy
The navel is the last closed site in embryonic development, with no subcutaneous fat and rich vascular network beneath the abdominal membrane. Umbilical therapy involves placing herbs directly on the navel or surrounding area to treat diseases. Since the navel connects to all meridians, it enables circulation of qi and communication with zang-fu organs and limbs. Medicines travel directly to the affected site via meridians, expelling pathogens and promoting recovery. This method uses rhubarb, aconite, fine ginger, astragalus, motherwort, plantago to make pills applied to the navel. Through the navel, the medicine enters the bloodstream, exerting effects to tonify spleen-kidney, lower turbidity, detoxify, reduce swelling, and promote urination.
5. Herbal Bath
Generally, choose herbs easily absorbed through the skin. Such as Ephedra, Cinnamon Twig, Notopterygium, Salvia, Safflower, Ligusticum, Saposhnikovia, Fine Ginger. Leveraging the thermal effect of the bath water, the active ingredients act directly on the body surface. Skin temperature rises, capillaries dilate, promoting blood and lymph circulation. Toxins are excreted more through sweat, giving damaged kidneys a chance to recover spontaneously—increasing urine output, reducing edema, enhancing immunity. Research shows that Ephedra improves renal blood flow, safflower improves circulation, thus promoting diuresis. With massive water loss, edema subsides, urea nitrogen and creatinine are excreted, not only relieving nausea and vomiting but rapidly improving dangerous hyperkalemia, achieving skin dialysis effects.
6. Herbal Waistband
Grind herbs like rhubarb, Salvia, astragalus, raw aconite, Ligusticum into powder, place in a cloth belt worn around the waist, allowing direct action on the affected area. This promotes meridian flow, expels evil, clears toxins, drains lung fluid, protects kidney qi, activates blood, nourishes blood, resolves dampness, detoxifies, lowers serum urea nitrogen and creatinine. The band is worn day and night; if it interferes with sleep, it can be removed at night. This therapy has been passed down for generations, offering simplicity and no side effects.
7. Dietary Therapy
In uremic stage, protein breakdown produces many harmful substances. Therefore, low-protein diet is crucial. Daily protein intake should not exceed 0.5g per kg body weight, preferably high-biological-value proteins like eggs, milk, and lean meat. Eat more tubers, less high-plant-protein foods like rice and noodles. Avoid soybeans and products to reduce urea nitrogen and creatinine production, easing kidney burden and slowing further deterioration. When urine output decreases, avoid high-potassium foods like kelp, mushrooms, green beans, bananas, oranges, spinach. Reduced urine output makes potassium hard to excrete, raising blood potassium levels—potentially causing cardiac arrest. Also limit high-phosphorus foods, eat more calcium- and iron-rich foods to prevent calcium loss and improve anemia.