Source: Beijing Huairou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine 

　　On July 16, the first day of the dog days, people began to receive Sanfutie plasters, a treatment of winter illnesses which can be warded off in summer, in Beijing Huairou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

　　In order to strengthen the prevention and control of the epidemic and provide convenience for the majority of patients to seek medical treatment, our hospital began to make online appointment for Sanfutie plasters on July 10, and set up special sessions in the traditional characteristic clinic area on the fifth floor of the outpatient building and the Pediatric Department on the second floor.

　　According to the regulation of applying TCM plasters on the first day of dog days, the Respiratory Department of the Hospital continued to help online-appointment patients to get the appointment number, prescribe medicine and practice medicine patches at the site. Medical staff explained in detail the TCM treatment principle, the location of the acupoint, and the matters in the process of application, and issued the publicity materials such as the ten questions of the mid-summer patches. The Pediatric Outpatient Department specially set up the application room, which provided one-stop service of registration, opening, taking and applying. Pediatric medical staff patiently and meticulously explained to parents the daily reservation time of mid-summer patches according to the age and skin condition of the children, as well as the applying cautions. A lot of patients with bronchial asthma, rhinitis said this year was not the first year to stick mid-summer patches and he had experienced the treatment effect in the winter.

　　During the epidemic period, the hospital carried out online mid-summer patches, aiming to reduce the density of patients as much as possible. Therefore, both adults and children should come to the hospital strictly in accordance with the booking time. There were also some patients who had not made an appointment to apply on the first three days of the dog days when the application effect is the best time according to the TCM theory. As a treatment method, acupoint application is not limited to the three days and application is effective as long as in the first three days of three 10-day periods that are predicted to have the hottest days of the year.

　　The following points should be noted after the medicine application:

　　1. It is recommended to take a bath or clean the acupoint to be applied before dressing.

　　2. On the day of application, avoid blowing electric fans and air conditioners, do not take a bath. If taking a bath, wash with warm water 6 hours after removal.

　　3. If local skin itching, do not scratch with the hand, you can gently pat the affected area with the palm to prevent infection after the snap. The application may leave important deposit on the skin, wipe with a wet towel.

　　4. Application time: 6-8 hours for adults and 1-4 hours for children. After application, if there is itching and fever in the local area, the skin redness is normal, which does not affect the curative effect. If the pain is unbearable and the skin has large blisters, you can go to the hospital for treatment.

　　5. Avoid smoking, wine, raw and cold, greasy and spicy food during application.

　　It is reported that, according to the traditional theory of Chinese medicine external treatment, winter disease treatment in summer, nourishing "Yang" in spring and summer, during the period of the year when "Yang" is the most vigorous, mid-summer patches can stimulate the specific acupoints of human body, motivate the function of channels and collaterals, and promote and adjust the immune function of the body, so as to cure some diseases that are prone to relapse or aggravate in winter.