This prescription is named "Erchen" because Chenpi and Pinellia ternata in the prescription are good for those who have been aged for a long time. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that spleen is the source of phlegm, and when the function of spleen and stomach declines, phlegm will be endogenous. Therefore, Erchen Decoction can not only dry dampness, resolve phlegm and treat symptoms, but also strengthen spleen, regulate qi and eliminate the source of phlegm-dampness, so as to achieve the goal of treating both the symptoms and root causes.
Therefore, in the prescription, Pinellia ternata is dampness-eliminating, phlegm-resolving, qi-lowering and cough-relieving; Chenpi and Poria cocos enter the spleen and stomach meridian, which can regulate qi and eliminate phlegm, and regulate and strengthen the spleen and stomach; Atractylodes lancea also enters the spleen and stomach meridian, which can play the role of drying dampness and resolving phlegm.
Extended data:
"Erchen Decoction", a prescription that existed in the Song Dynasty, comes from the classic of Chinese medicine "Hejiju Prescription" at that time. The original prescription is Pinellia ternata, orange peel, poria cocos, licorice root, ginger, and ebony. In addition to resolving phlegm, vomiting and nausea caused by phlegm drinking are also effective.
For children, it can be simplified and turned into four flavors: Pinellia ternata, dried tangerine peel, dark plum and licorice. When the sputum is dissolved, the inducement is removed, and the cold that parents are worried about will not get up, including the cough and phlegm left after the cold, which has also been solved.
You can make a simpler "Erchen Decoction", that is, 6 grams of dried tangerine peel, 6 grams of dark plum, 6 grams of platycodon grandiflorum and 6 grams of licorice. You can drink it after boiling for about half an hour. Add a little sugar, it tastes sweet and sour, and children like it. Drinking it when phlegm starts can reduce cough after a cold.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Erchentang