Chinese medicine for calming the nerves and exorcising evil - cinnabar

Cinnabar is a banned traditional Chinese medicine in Taiwan. A certain doctor prescribed a medicine containing cinnabar, which poisoned the whole family of a congressman. After testing, the lead content in the powder exceeded the standard by more than 500 times.

In fact, the fact that cinnabar is poisonous is already old news, and many seniors in the field of traditional Chinese medicine have also expressed relevant opinions and views.

Cinnabar is mercury sulfide, the chemical formula is HgS; lead dan is lead tetroxide, and the chemical formula is Pb3O4. How can it be possible that lead is detected in the chemical formula of cinnabar?

To put it bluntly, these patients were not eating cinnabar, but lead pills. Cinnabar is just a scapegoat.

[The function of cinnabar? Peace of mind? 】

In the past, cinnabar was one of the medicines in Chinese medicine prescriptions, and it was believed that it could calm the nerves and calm fears, detoxify the fetus and poison, and exorcise evil spirits.

This is actually because the ancient Taoist priests used cinnabar when drawing talismans. Later, it was found that after drawing talismans, it has a calming effect on some crazy mental patients, so it was later used in traditional Chinese medicine.

But in fact, this soothing effect, in the field of modern pharmaceutical research, we know that this is derived from the neurotoxicity of mercury itself, which will hinder the efficiency of nerve conduction, and then achieve the effect of calming the mind.

Modern biological research has also found that mercury sulfide has the clinical effect of increasing the sleep time of animals, so the ancients regarded cinnabar as a soothing thing to treat insomnia and dreaminess.

To put it directly, let your brain and nerves react slower, and the opposite person will not be nervous.

Teacher, it turns out that the effect of calming the mind and the soul is like this. It poisons people, and then the nerves and the brain can't run fast, and then you think the disease will be cured? Isn't this an idiot idea?

In fact, the current research on Western medicine is also based on this concept. Many other methods are used to slow down your brain and nerve response, and then it is said that this is the solution. There is basically no difference between the two, and there is no comparison.

[The process of cinnabar has a huge impact]

In ancient times, in the production of cinnabar, the water-flying method was often used, that is to say, adding water and grinding at a slow speed. In this way, the heat of grinding was continuously reduced with water, so that the chemical formula would not be generated due to heating during the production process. Variety.

In fact, although mercury itself is toxic, the chemical formula of mercury sulfide itself is quite stable. In the biological force-feeding experiment, it was found that force-feeding mercury sulfide (HgS) does not cause a large amount of accumulation in biological organs, because it is not easy to dissociate, which makes it difficult to dissociate. Absorption in the gut is relatively poor.

However, when mercury sulfide is heated, the "sulfur S" of HgS in the original chemical formula will be heated and burned, making the original chemical formula Hg combined with oxygen or free mercury Hg+, both of which are easy to use. It enters the human body in the digestive tract and deposits in the brain and central nervous system, affecting nerve activity and hindering nerve conduction velocity.

Basically, the concept of medicine in ancient times was unclear, and it also caused many accidental drug incidents. For example, the well-known Tang Taizong recorded in the literature that he suffered from "foot Taiyin Phlegm Juetou Disease". That is similar to modern vertigo. In the 22nd year of Zhenguan (648), when Wang Xuance attacked Beitianzhu, after eating the "spiritual medicine" of the Luoer Shapomei, he recorded that he "Russian and Dajian", that is, he died suddenly and violently; The doctor came, but he didn't know how to give first aid, and he died immediately. The incident was recorded in the biography of Tang Shidu. In fact, it is obvious that it is acute drug poisoning.

It is estimated that it may be because the medicine may contain cinnabar or the chemical formula change caused by the forging of realgar. For example, in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases", it is also recorded that "realgar is close to fire, poisonous like arsenic." In fact, realgar and Cinnabar near fire is poisonous arsenic. The chemical formula of realgar is As2S3. After heating, it becomes arsenic trioxide (As2O3) or As2O2, which is the ancient "Hedinghong" or "arsenic".

In fact, among the emperors of the past dynasties in China, many died after taking the wrong medicine. I will write about it when I have the opportunity.

[Why is cinnabar banned? 】

In the past, the Ministry of Health and Welfare banned the use of cinnabar in 1994. In fact, before the ban on the use of cinnabar, the Chinese Medicine Committee of the Department of Health of the Executive Yuan also commissioned the Institute of Toxicology, National Taiwan University School of Medicine to conduct research, especially on mercury sulfide ( cinnabar), after researching the mechanism of affecting nerves, it was found that the neurotoxicity of oral mercuric sulfide is reversible, that is, it can be slowly recovered after stopping the drug. And the toxicity of mercury sulfide (Mgs) is only one thousandth of that of methyl mercury ((CH3)Hg+).

It's all mercury, why use methylmercury for comparison? Because inorganic mercury is transformed into methylmercury under the action of microorganisms, it is more indicative.

In other words, if cinnabar (mercury sulfide) is used correctly, it is actually quite a safe drug, but even if the research report is written like this, it is finally banned. What is the reason?

Because it is a matter of human nature and intelligence.

Around the time when my father was in charge, when cinnabar was not banned, it cost 4-5,000 yuan a pound, and at that time, a pound of lead pills only cost around 50 yuan.

Some people do the beheading business, and no one does the money-losing business.

We know that when it is profitable, there will be illegal things, especially when there are huge profits.

In addition, many practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine or pharmacists and pharmacies lack basic chemical knowledge and pharmacy knowledge, and often do not have basic self-cultivation. For example, in ancient times, it was believed that after the fire was cut off, the medicinal properties changed to warm tonic, so there are many medicines that will be later produced. In addition to the process of fire forging, it will become poisonous if it is not poisonous.

Finally, there is another problem, that is, if consumers themselves do not have a basic concept of medicine, then many patients often become doctors by themselves, and they don’t take medicines according to the time. Poison will also become poisonous.

Combining the above problems, we know that it is reasonable to be banned.

[Chinese medicine and western medicine are poisonous in themselves]

I often hear people say, "The effect of traditional Chinese medicine is slower and more solid."

In fact, to be honest, this is a misunderstanding of the concept; the longer we take medicine, the more difficult it is for us to control the doses of multiple drugs themselves accumulated in the body.

In fact, the text of the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine on traditional Chinese medicine is "poison". That is to say, ancient Chinese medicine believed that the medicine itself is actually poisonous, and the dosage and the time of taking it have a huge impact.

Therefore, there is no Chinese medicine that is less toxic, and Western medicine is more poisonous.

"Father of Toxicology" Paracelsus (1493~1541) said: "All chemical substances are poisonous, and there is no non-toxic chemical substance in the world; but according to the amount of use, it can be Distinguish as poison or drug.”

So from a toxicological point of view, the most critical thing about poisoning is the cumulative dose.

In addition, Chinese medicinal herbs also have the problem of environmental pollution when they are planted, that is, your medicinal herbs may be contaminated by heavy metals next to them. In addition to the original curative effect, you will also be poisoned by eating heavy metals.

This is one of the reasons why Western pharmaceutical companies have abandoned the direct use of herbs for drug development.

It does not mean that it is not necessary to use it if it is poisonous. The meaning of poisoning is that its effect is large and obvious. For example, the "botulinum toxin" (botulinum toxin) that girls often use in medical and beauty clinics is a kind of botulinum toxin produced. neurotoxin. In terms of toxicology, its toxicity is classified as "super poisonous" beyond the highly toxic. In animal experiments, only a dose of 0.01 micrograms/kg will kill half of the animals.

But we can apply it to the wrinkles of the face, and even to patients with strabismus, facial spasm, torticollis, etc.

In Chinese medicine prescriptions in mainland China, poisonous drugs such as cinnabar and aconite are state-controlled Chinese medicines. There are regulations for their preparation and use. In clinical practice, they also need the approval of the hospital supervisor before they can be used.

In the end, it comes back to a point. Many drugs were basically drugs in the past, and the drugs that turned into drugs because of drug abuse, the root cause is the problem of human nature.

The vast majority of medical practitioners cherish their feathers, but drug dealers need to uphold conscience to do things, and also need to learn basic knowledge of drugs and biology.

Cinnabar itself is really just a scapegoat.

[The author is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. He has practiced on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, and has taught in three places on both sides of the Taiwan Strait for many years. 】

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