Mencius said: a seven-year illness needs three years of moxa, which means that a seven-year illness needs to be treated with Chen Fang's moxa stick for more than three years. Usually, mugwort leaves can only be called "Ai Chen" if they are preserved for more than one year, and mugwort leaves produced in Chenfang for three to five years have the best effect. What are "three years old" and "five years old"? Is to store mugwort leaves for three to five years and make them into moxa sticks. But in the market, three-year-old moxa sticks are generally the best, and there are not many moxa sticks stored for five years. Authentic five-year-old moxa sticks are expensive. If they are cheap, they are all deceptive. ? (live forever and be a true proportion of moxa sticks), so pay special attention. So why is aged moxa sticks more suitable for moxibustion?
First, because Ai Chen has been preserved for a long time, Folium Artemisiae Argyi contains less volatile oil, with mild and lasting firepower, strong permeability and good effect. However, Artemisia argyi contains a lot of volatile oil, which has a pungent smell and a fast burning speed. After it is ignited, it has a large smoke and strong firepower. The ash of Artemisia argyi is easy to fall off and may burn the skin. The smoke of Artemisia argyi also has certain harm to the human body.
Second, Chen Moxibustion has soft firepower, good moxibustion feeling and good effect. Shi Aixin's moxibustion has a strong fire and a burning sensation, and doctors in previous dynasties have also emphasized that Shi Aichen's moxibustion has a better effect.
Third, Ai Chen has strong heat penetration, which can penetrate into the skin well, while Ai Xin has weak penetration. Usually, heat can only stay on the skin surface and cannot directly reach the meridians.
How to choose better quality moxa sticks is always our concern. Old moxa sticks can usually be identified by color and smell. The moxa sticks made by Chen are generally khaki or golden yellow, while the moxa sticks made by Chen are green and the smell is not pungent. Ai Xin smells like grass, so Ai Chen is often used instead of Ai Xin in clinic. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that "whoever needs to use Artemisia argyi for a long time, it is delicate and soft, which is called cooked Artemisia argyi." If there is moxibustion fire, it is easy to hurt muscles. "The color of Ai Chen is khaki or golden yellow, and moxa is soft and free of impurities, which is regarded as the top grade.
Ai Rong and moxa sticks are not as old as possible!
There should also be an aging limit for aged mugwort leaves and mugwort sticks, not 10 years and 8 years. We all know that drugs have a shelf life, so Artemisia argyi is also a kind of Chinese medicine, and it also has a shelf life. Now the so-called five-year and seven-year Ai Chen in the market is just a gimmick of many businesses.
Some customers reported that the bought moxa sticks had a weak smell and asked if the moxa sticks were broken. This is not necessarily the case. The contents of wormwood are discharged. Generally, the older the moxa sticks, the weaker the fragrance! But there are limits. There is an idiom that goes too far. Three years in Ai Chen is the limit. If it is left for a long time, it will lose the taste and efficacy of wormwood. If you want to make your own moxa sticks, you can use them for 2-3 years. It's hard to say if you leave them for too long.
How to choose the moxa stick that suits you?
? If you want a good moxibustion effect, you must first choose a good moxa stick! A good moxa stick is more permeable, and it is easy to get angry during moxibustion, so that it can really play the role of dredging menstruation and benefiting qi. The fuel used in moxibustion is directly the waste heat of burning mugwort leaves, and there is no need to use the fine mugwort leaves in mugwort leaves at all.
If moxa cone moxibustion is directly attached to the skin, the quality of moxa sticks must be high-quality moxa sticks with high cashmere content for more than three years. When choosing a warm moxibustion tube for warm moxibustion, the level of moxa sticks is too high, because the burning speed is too fast, but it is not suitable. So in general, specific problems are analyzed in detail.
In short, hanging moxibustion and moxibustion are not in direct contact with the skin. The problem of using a little moxa stick is not too big, but it will feel poor heat permeability, but the surface is hot, and the fire is very big and easy to burn. However, direct moxibustion, physical moxibustion and sitting moxibustion are different, because they are in direct contact with the skin or have a large contact surface with moxa smoke, so the requirements for moxa sticks are higher. If there are too many impurities in the moxa stick, the effect is not only poor, but also there are many reactions after moxibustion, which makes it easier to get angry.