Ointment is an ancient Chinese medicine preparation with a long history. As early as Shan Hai Jing, it was recorded that sheep fat was used to prevent chapped skin, which can be said to be the most primitive plaster. There is a description of "sticking skin cream" in Huangdi Neijing, "carbuncle occurs in the inner layer ... adhesive tape cream, cold food, only for three days. ..... it's been six days since I applied plaster. " On the Truth from the Inner Canon: "Rub it, bathe it, thin it, grab it, open it and make it, depending on the situation." Among them, "Mo Zhi and Zhi Bo are the origins of later plasters". During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, this ointment was called "high release" or "thin". The Tang Dynasty also had the title of "Mogao". In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Tang Dynasty's "Jian" was renamed as "Jian" or "Gao" and included in the category of ointment. This will enrich the variety of ointment. With the development of history, the use of ointment has gradually expanded, not only for treating exogenous diseases, but also for treating internal injuries. In Wu Shiji's Li Lun Parallel Prose in Qing Dynasty, the formula, application and preparation technology of ointment were discussed in detail, and the types of ointment such as white ointment and rosin ointment were created. With the rapid development of transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS), the application scope of external ointment is more extensive.
Ointment has a wide range of functions. Whether it is taken orally or externally, it has the advantages of high content of active ingredients, slow precipitation speed, lasting effect and practical local curative effect because of its certain consistency. Xu Ling said: "The plaster used today was called thin plaster by the ancients. There are two main uses: one is to treat exterior and the other is to treat interior. For those who treat superficial symptoms, such as expelling pus and removing putrefaction, relieving pain and promoting granulation, shielding wind and protecting meat, the ointment should be changed lightly every day. There are very effective prescriptions for treating internal diseases, such as expelling cold, harmonizing qi and blood, eliminating phlegm and swelling, and strengthening tendons and bones. Drugs are also added and subtracted with the disease. Its ointment should be thick and lasting. "
External plaster was called thin plaster in ancient times. Tang Li Chuo's "History of History" records: "In Nanhai, Yuan Gong Town, there was gangrene at the temples, so Xiang Ji Guo took a plaster and put it on the sore, which was calmed down for several days." Specific preparation method: according to different situations, select the corresponding drugs, soak them in vegetable oil for a certain period of time, put them in a pot and boil them. After the drugs are completely dried, remove the residues and then boil them. When the water drops turn into beads, add an appropriate amount of lead according to the proportion of oil (depending on the different seasons at that time), mix well, and take off the fire (or put lead first). When the medicine is thick as paste, cut it into large pieces and put it in cold water to remove the fire poison. When in use, it is melted by heating, spread on cloth, thick paper or thin oil paper, and pasted on the affected skin. Clinical symptoms include joint pain, stiffness, deep muscle ache, skin numbness, deep abscess, fracture and tendon injury. It has the effects of expelling wind and removing dampness, promoting qi circulation and blood circulation, and strengthening tendons and bones, such as Wanying ointment and Jiegu ointment. Can be used for treating superficial diseases such as carbuncle, furuncle, gangrene and furuncle. It has the functions of relieving swelling and pain, removing necrotic tissue, promoting granulation, astringing mouth and protecting sore. Such as Taiyi ointment, motherwort cream, Yangyao, Chonghe ointment, etc.
Gypsum has a long history of application in China. The ancient doctor said, "Plaster can cure diseases, and there is no special soup. If used properly, it will make a sound. " The quality and curative effect of plaster are fundamental. Plaster belongs to external treatment, which avoids the toxic and side effects of oral drugs and has definite curative effect, and has been widely welcomed by the masses. Xu Dachun in the Qing Dynasty said: "Soup medicine is not enough to cure all diseases, so sticking it with plaster can block its qi, make the medicinal properties enter its mechanism from pores, dredge meridians, or take it, or attack it and disperse it, which is especially powerful than taking medicine." The medicine in the plaster directly acts on the acupuncture points on the body surface, and its properties penetrate into the subcutaneous tissue from the surface to the inside through the skin texture, on the one hand, it produces the relative advantage of drug concentration locally; On the other hand, through the operation of meridians, we can directly reach the place where the viscera and qi are out of balance, and play the role of "meridian tropism" and function of drugs, thus exerting the greatest systemic pharmacological effect. Traditional injection and oral therapy not only damage nerves, blood vessels, muscles and other tissues and intestinal reactions, making it difficult for patients to accept, but also these methods are easy to destroy drugs through systemic blood circulation and intestinal tract, and few drugs really reach the local part of the disease, so the dosage is extremely large and the curative effect is extremely poor. External application of plaster completely solved this problem, and the drug directly acted on the affected area, which improved the curative effect several times and made it difficult to produce drug resistance.