Drinking a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi water when you have a heat stroke? Nonsense, this is a suicidal act!

We all know how hot the weather has been recently. Walking outdoors is like being in a walking steamer, and the feeling of steam can be felt everywhere.

The most despairing thing is that this is just an ambush, and there will be more torture for some time to come.

It is this steaming weather that has led to frequent news reports of heat stroke or heat stroke. Many people deal with the heat by staying in comfortable air-conditioned rooms, while those who have to stay outdoors always have Huoxiang Zhengqi water on hand. Whenever they feel a little dizzy or have stomach discomfort, they drink a bottle to prevent heat stroke.

In many people's minds, Huoxiang Zhengqi Water is a universal heat-relief medicine. In addition to preventing heatstroke, its "business scope" includes but is not limited to treating mosquito bites, treating onychomycosis, treating eczema and prickly heat, treating motion sickness, and soaking feet to remove odor...

Regardless of whether these functions are reliable, just thinking about "relieve heat" is a big mistake. Using Huoxiang Zhengqi Water to treat heatstroke will only "add fuel to the fire" and aggravate the heatstroke!

Heat stroke

Heatstroke is a temperature metabolism disorder caused by high temperature environment, resulting in a series of adverse conditions such as dehydration, electrolyte loss, and heat dissipation disorder. Mild cases may cause dizziness, fatigue, thirst, headache, sweating, flushed face, fever, etc. Severe cases may cause shock, convulsions, coma and other symptoms. The most serious heatstroke is called "heat stroke", in which high temperature causes dysfunction of the temperature regulation center, ultimately leading to death.

Therefore, the most important step after heatstroke is to lower the body temperature as quickly as possible, such as fanning yourself, cooling down with cool water, applying a wet cool towel or ice pack to the forehead and armpits, and then replenishing water and electrolytes, such as light salt water or sports drinks.

However, Huoxiang Zhengqi Water has a high alcohol content of about 40% to 50%, which obviously cannot replenish water and electrolytes. At the same time, alcohol will aggravate the dehydration of human cells. In other words, if people with heatstroke drink Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, not only will the symptoms not be relieved, but they may aggravate the symptoms.

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, Huoxiang Zhengqi Water is used to treat summer heatstroke, which is "yin heatstroke". For example, symptoms such as nausea and dizziness caused by using too much air conditioning or frequently going in and out of air-conditioned rooms, or gastrointestinal disharmony caused by staying in a hot and humid environment for too long. Heatstroke is "yang heatstroke". Patients need fluid replenishment and cooling down the body the most. Taking Huoxiang Zhengqi Water at this time will consume body fluids and disperse qi and blood, thus aggravating the condition.

Huoxiang Zhengqi Water is really not a panacea. If you read its instructions for use, you will find that its main effects are to treat fever, chest tightness, abdominal distension, vomiting and diarrhea caused by hot weather mixed with moisture, as well as nausea and vomiting caused by excessive dampness, that is, summer-heat and dampness cold.

In addition, it also has certain effects on acclimatization, motion sickness, Meniere's syndrome (vertigo, tinnitus, deafness), pediatric indigestion, eczema, insect bites, chronic urticaria, tinea pedis, and prickly heat in children.

However, you cannot drink Huoxiang Zhengqi Water whenever you want, because of its high alcohol content and rapid efficacy. People who are allergic to alcohol, the elderly, pregnant women, and children should not take it casually.

Especially for pregnant women, in addition to alcohol, its ingredients also contain aromatic Chinese medicines such as Patchouli, Tangerine Peel, Magnolia Bark, etc., which may cause miscarriage in severe cases.

At the same time, it also has some other contraindications. For example, it should not be taken together with cephalosporins, because the alcohol contained in it may meet with the chemical components in cephalosporins and cause poisoning, manifested as shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, headache, vomiting, rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, and even shock and impaired consciousness, which is also called a disulfiram-like reaction.

Patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and patients who are undergoing treatment should not drink Huoxiang Zhengqi Water without authorization. If they want to drink it, they should consult a doctor.

In short, Huoxiang Zhengqi does have many functions, but it is not a panacea. In particular, the deeply rooted belief in its ability to prevent heatstroke in many people's minds is a misunderstanding. Moreover, for some people, it should be avoided and taken with caution.

Author: Mingyue

Source: Doctor Youlai