Can pregnant women drink Banlangen (Isatis root) during pregnancy?
Banlangen has a relatively good therapeutic effect on colds, so can pregnant women drink Banlangen? So far, there is no definitive medical proof that pregnant women cannot drink Banlangen, but attention should also be paid to the side effects of Banlangen granules.
Can pregnant women drink Banlangen?
1. Excessive or long-term use of Banlangen has an irritating effect on the digestive tract. Some patients show relatively obvious symptoms of digestive tract mucosal irritation after oral administration of Banlangen, manifesting as gastrointestinal colic and gastrointestinal bleeding.
2. Some people experience acute hemolytic reactions due to taking Banlangen, developing jaundice and acute renal insufficiency.
3. There are also reports of drug rash occurring after taking Banlangen. Anaphylactic shock caused by the use of Banlangen injection is relatively common, and there are reports of death from it. Banlangen injection can also cause kidney damage.
The effects and functions of Banlangen
Banlangen is the root of Isatis indigotica, a plant in the Brassicaceae family, and is a commonly used medicinal material. It is also known by the aliases Da Dian and Lan Dian. The best Banlangen is flat and straight, firm, highly powdery, and thick. Banlangen tastes bitter and is cold in nature. It contains a variety of minerals and antiviral substances, and has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood, reducing spots, soothing the throat, promoting fluid production and quenching thirst, refreshing and moistening the throat, and improving human immunity. It is mainly used for the treatment of warm-heat diseases with fever, headache, sore throat, skin rashes, epidemic parotitis, and swollen sores and toxic lesions. It has a relatively strong inhibitory and killing effect on cold viruses, mumps virus, hepatitis virus, and epidemic encephalitis virus. It also has a broad-spectrum antibacterial effect in vitro (including dysentery bacteria, Salmonella bacteria, and hemolytic streptococcus), and is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, pain relief, and fever reduction.
Banlangen is one of the Chinese herbal medicines that effectively prevents diseases such as influenza A H1N1, SARS, and viral influenza. Its effect lies in helping people eliminate these toxic and harmful substances from the body. When used together with Cyrtomium fortunei, honeysuckle, and wild chrysanthemum, it can be used to treat certain infectious diseases and febrile☆forbidden☆diseases. It also has a relatively good preventive and therapeutic effect on common diseases such as colds, flu, mumps, pinkeye, and measles.
Because Banlangen is bitter and cold in nature and flavor, it is more suitable for wind-heat colds caused by heat pathogens in the body. People with a normally heat-prone constitution may also drink one bag each after breakfast and dinner during cold season for prevention, but it is best not to exceed three days. If a person has a constitution tending toward deficiency-cold, often feeling disharmony of the spleen and stomach, prone to diarrhea, and with a body that fears cold, then it is not suitable for them to drink much Banlangen granules. Because its bitter cold nature harms the stomach, it will bring a series of gastrointestinal reactions. This may even result in the cold not being cured, while instead causing stomach pain, aversion to cold, and poor appetite. Especially in children, whose spleen and stomach functions are not yet fully developed, taking more Banlangen is even more likely to cause symptoms such as indigestion. Therefore, do not take Banlangen granules blindly on your own, and even more so do not increase the dosage at will. It should be taken dissolved in water under the guidance of a doctor or according to the usage and dosage specified in the instructions, otherwise it will bring physical discomfort.
From the above description, we find that Banlangen, as a Chinese patent medicine, although patients with the above situations are rare, still has certain side effects. Therefore, pregnant women should use it with caution. It cannot be completely said that pregnant women cannot use Banlangen granules; the prerequisite is that the medication must be taken correctly under the guidance of a doctor, and a treatment method suitable for oneself must be chosen.