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Keimakakuhanto

Traditionally used for: Short-term use in a cold that has not cleared; Traditional Kampo care given by a trained practitioner.

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What is Keimakakuhanto? Keimakakuhanto is a Japanese Kampo herbal formula. It is taken for a cold that drags on with mild fever, chills and little or no sweat. It is also used for itchy skin and hives (raised itchy welts). Keimakakuhanto is the Japanese name written in our letters. The mix joins half of one classic cold recipe with half of another. Seven dried plants go into it, including ephedra herb and licorice root. It is one of the 148 Kampo formulas approved for insurance use in Japan by the MHLW (the Japanese health ministry). Long use is not proof that a remedy works. No human trials of this formula have been published, so we cannot say how well it works. How does Keimakakuhanto work? No one has tested how this formula works in people, so the account below is an idea, not a proven path. In Kampo thinking, the mix warms the body and lets out a light sweat. That is said to move a lingering cold along and calm itchy skin. In plain drug terms, ephedra herb holds ephedrine. Ephedrine is a stimulant that can open the airways, raise the heart rate and raise blood pressure. Cinnamon, ginger and apricot kernel are the warming and cough-easing parts of the recipe. What forms does Keimakakuhanto come in? In Japan it is sold mainly as a dried extract granule in single-dose sachets. Tablets and fine powders are also made. Some practitioners still boil the raw sliced herbs into a tea, which is the older way. Outside Japan you are most likely to find granules or capsules from a Kampo supplier. Where it comes from: The recipe comes from the Shanghan Lun, a Chinese medical book written around 200 CE. It is a half-and-half blend of two older formulas from the same text. Japanese doctors took up these classics and shaped them into Kampo, Japan's own herbal system. Today the formula sits on Japan's list of 148 insurance-approved Kampo formulas, though it is used far less than the big-name cold remedies.

Helps

What does Keimakakuhanto help with? A cold that lingers with mild fever and chills: This is the classic use. Kampo texts point to it when a cold has not cleared, the fever stays mild and you do not sweat. There are no published trials in people for this formula, so we cannot tell you how often it helps. Chills and fever that come and go, with no sweat: The old texts describe this exact pattern, with a slight flush of the face and mild body ache. Practitioners still choose the formula on that picture. The support here is tradition and case experience only. Itchy skin: Kampo practitioners sometimes use it for itch that comes with a warm, dry skin pattern. Evidence is limited to tradition and doctor reports. Long-lasting itch can have many causes, so get it checked before you self-treat. Hives (raised itchy welts): This is a recognised Kampo use in Japan, often in short courses. No controlled trial has tested it. Hives that come with swelling of the lips, tongue or throat are an emergency and need care now, not herbs. Mild cough and blocked nose with a cold: Apricot kernel and ephedra are the parts aimed at cough and stuffiness. Ephedrine can open airways, but that has been studied as a single drug, not as this formula. Treat this as traditional use, not proven benefit.

Keimakakuhanto

Quick Facts

  • What it is: A Japanese Kampo herbal formula of seven plants, used for a lingering cold with mild fever and for itchy skin.
  • Main uses: A cold that lingers with mild fever and chills, Chills and fever with no sweat, Itchy skin and hives (raised itchy welts)
  • Best for: Short-term use in a cold that has not cleared, Traditional Kampo care given by a trained practitioner
  • Active ingredients: Ephedra herb (mao), which holds ephedrine, Licorice root, which holds glycyrrhizin (the sweet licorice compound), Cinnamon bark, Peony root, Apricot kernel, Jujube fruit, Ginger
  • Forms: Dried extract granules in sachets, Tablets, Fine powder, Boiled herb tea (decoction)
  • Time to effect: Cold symptoms: one to two days. Skin symptoms: one to two weeks.
  • Side effects: Often a fast heart beat, shaky feeling or poor sleep; with long use, low potassium, swelling and higher blood pressure.
  • Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Avoid unless your clinician advises otherwise.

Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.

What is Keimakakuhanto?

Keimakakuhanto is a Japanese Kampo herbal formula. It is taken for a cold that drags on with mild fever, chills and little or no sweat. It is also used for itchy skin and hives (raised itchy welts).

Keimakakuhanto is the Japanese name written in our letters. The mix joins half of one classic cold recipe with half of another. Seven dried plants go into it, including ephedra herb and licorice root.

It is one of the 148 Kampo formulas approved for insurance use in Japan by the MHLW (the Japanese health ministry). Long use is not proof that a remedy works. No human trials of this formula have been published, so we cannot say how well it works.

How does Keimakakuhanto work?

No one has tested how this formula works in people, so the account below is an idea, not a proven path.

In Kampo thinking, the mix warms the body and lets out a light sweat. That is said to move a lingering cold along and calm itchy skin.

In plain drug terms, ephedra herb holds ephedrine. Ephedrine is a stimulant that can open the airways, raise the heart rate and raise blood pressure. Cinnamon, ginger and apricot kernel are the warming and cough-easing parts of the recipe.

What forms does Keimakakuhanto come in?

In Japan it is sold mainly as a dried extract granule in single-dose sachets. Tablets and fine powders are also made.

Some practitioners still boil the raw sliced herbs into a tea, which is the older way. Outside Japan you are most likely to find granules or capsules from a Kampo supplier.

Where it comes from:

The recipe comes from the Shanghan Lun, a Chinese medical book written around 200 CE. It is a half-and-half blend of two older formulas from the same text.

Japanese doctors took up these classics and shaped them into Kampo, Japan's own herbal system. Today the formula sits on Japan's list of 148 insurance-approved Kampo formulas, though it is used far less than the big-name cold remedies.

If this is an emergency

Some reactions to Keimakakuhanto need urgent care. Call your local emergency number or go to an emergency department straight away — do not wait to see whether it passes.

Who should avoid Keimakakuhanto?

  • Do not use if you have heart disease or a heart rhythm problem (an uneven or racing heart beat)
  • Do not use if you have high blood pressure that is not under control
  • Do not use if you take an MAOI drug (an older type of medicine for low mood)
  • Do not use if you have an overactive thyroid (a gland in the neck making too much hormone)
  • Do not use if you have low potassium in your blood
  • Do not use if you take a water pill (a diuretic, which makes you pass more urine) without your doctor's say-so
  • Do not use if you have serious liver or kidney disease
  • Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, unless a doctor who knows Kampo tells you to
  • Do not use if you have glaucoma (raised pressure inside the eye)
  • Do not use if you have trouble passing urine from an enlarged prostate (a gland near the bladder)
  • Do not use if you are already taking another ephedra formula or a cold pill with pseudoephedrine
  • Do not use if you have ever reacted badly to any plant in the mix
  • Do not use if you plan to give it to a child, unless a children's doctor agrees the dose

When should you see a doctor?

Stop taking it and get urgent help if you have chest pain, a pounding or uneven heart beat, or you faint. Call emergency services for chest pain or trouble breathing.

See a doctor soon if your ankles or face swell, your muscles feel weak or keep cramping, or your blood pressure climbs.

See a doctor if your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow, or your urine turns dark. Also see a doctor if your fever lasts more than four days, your cough worsens, or hives come with swelling of the lips, tongue or throat.

Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.

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