Plaster is a kind of external traditional Chinese medicine, which was called thin plaster in ancient times. It is a gelatinous substance boiled with vegetable oil or animal oil, which can be coated on one side of cloth, paper or skin for a long time. It is mainly used for treating wind-cold-dampness arthralgia and furuncle swelling and pain. As early as in ancient China, Wu Shangxian, a TCM doctor in Qing Dynasty, wrote "Talking about Parallel Prose? Simple statement: Plaster can cure diseases, and there is no special decoction. If used properly, it will make a sound. 、? The principle of external treatment is the principle of internal treatment, and the medicine for external treatment is the medicine for internal treatment. ?

Efficacy and function of plaster:

Plasters work through the skin. Plaster application therapy is one of the commonly used external treatments in traditional Chinese medicine. It follows the principles of syndrome differentiation and treatment, efficacy, indications and meridian tropism, fully mobilizes the efficacy of drugs to coordinate with each other, forms a compound prescription of multiple drugs, and gives full play to the good functions of drugs. Because the plaster is directly attached to the body surface, most of the drugs used to make the ointment have a strong smell, and then the fragrant meridian-dredging drugs can play the roles of regulating qi and blood, dredging meridians, dispelling cold and dampness, reducing swelling and relieving pain by penetrating the skin and introducing them into the meridians and viscera.

Modern pharmacological research shows that black plaster is superior to rubber plaster in absorption and curative effect. However, the production process of black plaster is complicated, there is no uniform standard, and the quality is difficult to control, which leads to uneven quality of black plaster. Because the production of black plaster is time-consuming and laborious, Chinese medicine hospitals often apply traditional Chinese medicine externally, that is, Chinese herbal medicine is crushed and mixed with honey, vaseline and other substrates to form paste for external application, and then fixed with cotton paper and bandage, and the dressing is changed once every 24 hours, which is costly to use. Black plaster can be used for 3- 15 days at a time, and can be applied again after being removed, without affecting the curative effect, so the cost is low.

Traditional Chinese medicine surgical plaster is a kind of compound medicine by using the principle of meridian tropism of traditional Chinese medicine and the synergistic effect of drugs to give full play to the good effects of drugs. Because the plaster is used for thin sticking to the muscle surface, the medicine with strong smell is taken out from the plaster, so that the medicine guides a group of medicines and stagnates directly to the disease site. Therefore, it can penetrate into the skin to produce the effects of diminishing inflammation and relieving pain, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, dredging channels and collaterals, inducing resuscitation and penetrating bones, and expelling wind and cold. The plaster attached to the body surface stimulates nerve endings, dilates blood vessels through reflection, promotes local blood circulation, improves the nutrition of surrounding tissues, and achieves the purposes of detumescence, anti-inflammation and analgesia. At the same time, the drug penetrates into the subcutaneous tissue of the affected area through the skin, resulting in the relative advantage of drug concentration in the local area, thus playing a powerful pharmacological role. In addition, because there are some highly irritating drugs in the plaster, strong stimulation can regulate the body function, promote the formation of antibodies, and improve human immunity through nerve reflex. After the drug permeates the skin and mucosa, it enters the systemic circulation through blood vessels or lymphatic vessels, which can also produce systemic drug effects.