Does the San Fu Tie (Dog-Days Plaster) Actually Work? Who Should Get It? — Doctor Luo Dalun on Treating Winter Diseases in Summer: Top Up Your Yang Qi in Summer So You Won’t Get Sick in Winter

What people search for: does san fu tie work / who is the dog-days plaster for / treating winter diseases in summer / san fu tie contraindications / coughing every autumn / how to regulate chronic diarrhea in summer

Corresponding medical terms: treating winter diseases in summer · yang qi deficiency · deep stubborn cold · cold-type asthma · allergic rhinitis · deficient-cold diarrhea

Opening: these days, the Chinese medicine hospitals are packed

Every year when the san fu period arrives — the hottest three ten-day stretches of summer — the gates of every Chinese medicine hospital get busy: queues forming, appointments booked, everyone after the same thing: the san fu tie (dog-days plaster).

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: These past few days, how have the Chinese medicine hospitals been? They’ve started to get packed. Many friends go to the hospital hoping to get the san fu tie to help maintain their health. And many friends ask me: does the san fu tie actually work? Let me tell you — the san fu tie genuinely works, and you can set that worry aside. What matters is thinking through: how exactly does it work? Does it suit you? And how should you use it?

Treating winter diseases in summer: fight the battle first, then rebuild the fortifications

To talk about the dog-days plaster, you have to start with the theory behind it — treating winter diseases in summer (dong bing xia zhi). This is a very special theory in Chinese medicine.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: In winter, we catch cold very easily. Outside the weather is freezing; for weak people, for those with insufficient yang qi, the moment cold evil invades, problems arise — for example respiratory diseases: asthma, chronic bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, all kinds of cold patterns; and digestive problems too: cold-induced diarrhea, yang deficiency, and so on. In winter, what is the main goal of treatment? Expelling cold, driving the cold out. For a person whose body is generally insufficient, just holding the line is already good enough. Treatments that strengthen and warm yang exist, but their effect is mediocre at that time — why? Because the moment you tonify yang, the body’s yang qi sends its main fighting force to resist the cold evil. Summer is completely different: there is no cold evil outside, the body has spare time, it has surplus strength — so now we tonify your yang qi, and when winter comes, you can resist cold evil far better.

What is this like? Like warfare. When the enemy is attacking, when do you have time to build fortifications? You’re busy fighting. But once the enemy withdraws, you can’t just go back to sleep — you hurry to reinforce the defenses, keep digging, keep piling up earth, so that when the enemy returns you have nothing to fear.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Managing floods works the same way. When the flood comes, everyone is busy draining water. When the flood recedes, is everything fine? No. After every flood, everyone reinforces the levees, hurrying to repair the damaged banks. This is strengthening our internal forces when the enemy isn’t here, when no external force is pressing in — treating winter diseases in summer works on exactly this principle: in summer you don’t need to resist cold evil, and the body has a chance to build itself up.

People with sufficient yang qi don’t fear the cold when it comes

So the question is: why specifically tonify yang qi? Because everyone who catches cold in winter shares one foundation — yang qi deficiency.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: People with sufficient yang qi aren’t afraid when cold comes — everyone else catches the flu, and I’m fine. But if a gust of wind makes you catch cold, makes you run clear nasal mucus, then your yang qi is definitely insufficient. So in summer you must seize the time to consolidate your position. Chinese medicine holds that in summer yang qi flourishes and rises outward, and qi and blood flow far more freely than in winter. At this time, supporting yang, expelling cold, and assisting upright qi means the old cold stored in your body — the cold hidden deep inside — can be driven out completely, and that person won’t fall ill easily when winter arrives.

Many people fall ill every winter because cold entered their body, lurked inside, and never really left. Chinese medicine calls this shen han gu ji — deep, stubborn cold — the root of the disease.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: For example, someone coughs — coughs every autumn. That’s strange. Western medicine can’t explain why he coughs the moment it turns cold. The season is the same every year, and even the time is the same. Chinese medicine calls this deep, stubborn cold: he has cold evil lurking inside. That’s why treating winter diseases in summer is a very important theory in Chinese medicine.

The Qing-dynasty master Doctor Zhang Lu: the grandfather of the dog-days plaster

The san fu tie is no modern invention. Its origin goes back to the celebrated Qing-dynasty physician Doctor Zhang Lu.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: The use of the dog-days plaster was recorded long ago, in the Qing dynasty, by the famous physician Zhang Lu. He said: what about people whose asthma is extremely severe and belongs to the cold pattern? During the san fu days of summer, use the white mustard seed application method (bai jie zi tu fa) — the results are especially good; it often succeeds. Bai jie zi (white mustard seed) is a dispersing Chinese herb, and today almost every dog-days plaster contains bai jie zi. What else is in Zhang Lu’s formula? Xi xin (Manchurian wild ginger) and others. Xi xin and bai jie zi both have pungent, dispersing medicinal natures, and their properties are warm and hot, so they rouse the body’s yang qi. We often use them when treating allergic rhinitis — sometimes I grind them into powder and apply it into the nose.

How does sticking herbs on the skin work? — Stimulating acupoints, rousing yang qi

So the question arises: how can sticking medicine on the skin treat disease?

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: After this kind of medicine is applied, it stimulates the local skin, then stimulates the acupoints beneath, and the medicinal nature passes through the skin into the channels of the body, rousing the yang qi — this is a very good method. The formulas at different hospitals may differ today — there are various recipes — but basically the principle is the same: warm, stimulating, pungent-dispersing herbs that can rouse the body’s yang qi. Their treatment effects are basically comparable, and all very good.

Who should use it? Group one: people with cold-afflicted respiratory systems

Now that you know the principle, you need to see whether it suits you. The first group of beneficiaries: people whose respiratory systems have been affected by cold.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: If you feel you have respiratory disease — say you’re an older person, or a child — you can go try it, rouse the yang qi, and you’ll usually get through winter especially well. Northern Chinese seniors especially — many elderly people have been injured by cold in winter and carry cor pulmonale, emphysema, chronic bronchitis. In those cases, its effect is very good.

Who should use it? Group two: the true story of an elderly man with chronic diarrhea

The second group: people whose digestive systems have been affected by cold. Doctor Luo also told a real case he encountered personally.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Some people are simply cold-affected, simply yang-deficient — they always have chronic diarrhea: eat something iced and diarrhea comes immediately; get up in the morning when it’s a bit cool and diarrhea comes; sit on a cold bench and diarrhea comes too. That’s yang deficiency. For this kind of yang-deficient person, use warming-yang methods. I’ve talked before about Wu Mei Wan (Mume Pill) — Wu Mei Wan regulates both cold and heat. But some people are purely cold-affected, and for them you use the warming-yang approach. During the dog days, even a warm patch on the navel — applied to the Shenque acupoint (CV8) — works. And if you go to a Chinese medicine hospital and have the doctor prepare an external application for you, the effect is especially good — better than treating this disease in winter or any other season.

He then told the story of an elderly man he met: chronic diarrhea, many bowel movements a day, frequent and unformed. Was it enteritis? Not necessarily — no infection was found. Chinese medicine helped too, but the effect never consolidated. Judging cold versus heat is sometimes extremely difficult; the old man eventually began to suspect he had bowel cancer.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Then, quite by accident, he went with someone to get the san fu tie and had extra plaster applied on the belly and abdominal acupoints — and from then on, the chronic diarrhea simply healed. You see? This is treating the problems caused by deep, stubborn cold in summer — the effect is excellent, sometimes better than taking medicine. So everyone should seize the dog days — this is the season when the body’s yang qi is at its peak and qi and blood flow most freely. If you know you have cold-afflicted disease or yang deficiency, you can go get adjusted — I think the effect will be very good.

Who absolutely must not use it? — People with heat signs or yin deficiency, step back

The san fu tie is not for everyone. Contraindication number one: people with heat signs should stay away.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: For example, yin deficiency — I’m not yang-deficient at all, I’m yin-deficient, my tongue is red, deep red, with prickles standing up on it — then no, absolutely not. And if I’m in the middle of an exterior-excess febrile illness — say I’ve just caught a cold and have a fever — then don’t stick this hot stuff on; treat the cold the way it should be treated. That’s the first one.

Who else should be careful? — Sensitive skin, broken skin, pregnant women, children under two

The second category of contraindications has to do with the skin and special populations.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: People sensitive to medication must be cautious. Everyone’s skin sensitivity differs, and sensitivity to different drugs differs. Some people feel intense irritation the moment the plaster goes on — red and swollen — then you should remove it promptly and consult a doctor. Some people develop dermatitis the moment their skin touches anything; that’s even more of a no-go. Also, if the application site has broken skin — say there’s a boil or a wound — don’t apply it; the herbs are all irritating, and most people can’t take it. Pregnant women must not apply it casually, because these herbs are all hot-natured; if they move the essence-qi inside the channels, they can disturb the fetus, so don’t do it casually.

What about children? Doctor Luo gave a clear answer.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Children two and older can do it. Under two, the skin is too sensitive — skip it. When a child is wearing the plaster, you should observe constantly — if the child starts feeling uncomfortable, hurting badly, take it off. Don’t leave it on thinking, "I paid good money, I’m going to wear it to the end" — that easily causes blistering and ulcers, then infection — no good. If serious reactions like blistering occur, promptly ask the doctor who applied it, or see a dermatologist. Don’t let it become infected.

After applying: no iced watermelon, no cold wind, no swimming

There are also rules to follow after the plaster goes on — especially about cold food.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: What are the rules after application? Don’t eat cold things — I just got the plaster on and immediately eat iced watermelon; do you think that’s allowed? Absolutely not. Don’t be blown by cold wind. Don’t go swimming — during the application period, especially the first few days, avoid swimming as much as possible. That’s what the plaster does to the body.

Don’t drink Chinese medicine during the dog days? Quite the opposite — this is the best time to warm yang

There’s another widely circulated folk saying about the dog days that Doctor Luo wants to correct.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: In summer, besides the plaster, taking warm-natured herbs to warm the yang also works especially well. Summer is a rare opportunity, especially after the san fu begins. In many places, for some reason, this saying circulates: "don’t drink Chinese medicine during the dog days" — it’s too hot, don’t take herbs. That’s actually exactly wrong! For people who need to warm yang, this is precisely the best season to take Chinese medicine. For example, someone with chronic diarrhea drinks herbs that warm the yang of the spleen and stomach, or the spleen and kidneys — the effect is usually much better than in other seasons. In summer, yang-deficient people feel very comfortable — because they no longer need to resist cold evil, so they feel especially good. But remember, everyone: when you feel comfortable, don’t sleep in, don’t let your guard down.

The biggest trap: summer is the season when you’re most likely to catch cold

This last point may be something many people never thought of — the real peak season for catching cold is not winter, but summer.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: My view is this: in winter, not many people actually damage their yang qi. Why? Because winter today is not what it was in ancient times — now we have down jackets, fur coats, air-conditioned heating, and in the north, central heating. In winter we generally keep ourselves very warm, and very few people are invaded by cold evil. But when summer arrives, we let our guard down — and that’s exactly when we catch cold. For example, when it’s hot we drink cold drinks — yesterday I saw on the news someone doing a good deed, carrying loads of iced water to give to street cleaners and laborers working in the great heat. I think offering ordinary water, or tea, would be much better. Offering iced water — I suspect that could plant the seed of disease. You may not even realize: when iced water goes down, the rest of the body is hot, but it makes the local spleen and stomach ice-cold. Can the spleen and stomach take that? No. Then there are people who sit in cold air-conditioned wind, and wake up the next morning with a fever from catching cold. So summer is often the main season for catching cold — especially during the dog days. During the san fu period, above all, don’t damage your yang qi.

Closing: it works, and it works greatly

Having talked it all through, Doctor Luo gives the answer one more time.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: That answers today’s question: everyone asks me, does the san fu tie actually work? I tell you — it works, and it works greatly. If there’s a Chinese medicine hospital nearby, people with yang deficiency can consider getting one applied; I’m sure it will do you good. During the dog days, remember to protect your yang qi; and at the same time, if your yang qi is insufficient and you need warm-natured herbs to regulate yourself — this is the best season for it. That’s all for today; I’ll have more chances to talk about Chinese medicine with you later. See you next time!

(Compiled from Doctor Luo Dalun’s lecture. The san fu tie comes from the theory of treating winter diseases in summer; its white mustard seed application method was first recorded in the medical writings of the Qing-dynasty master Doctor Zhang Lu.)