Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
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Yu Ping Feng San is a Chinese herbal formula. It is also known as Jade Windscreen Powder. It is sold as a single drug (one product), even though it blends three herbs.
People take it to try to catch fewer coughs and colds. It is also used for hay fever and for sweating that comes on too easily. In Chinese medicine it is said to shield a weak "surface" of the body, like a screen in front of a door.
The evidence is weak. Most human trials are small, come from China, and were not run well. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a remedy works, and that holds here.
No one has shown how this formula works in people. What follows is an idea, not a proven fact.
In Chinese medicine, the three herbs are said to work as a team. Astragalus is said to build up the body's guard. White atractylodes is said to dry damp and steady the gut, and siler root is said to push out "wind" from the surface.
In lab dishes and in animals, parts of astragalus can nudge immune cells (the cells that fight germs). Some animal work also points to fewer signals that drive allergy swelling. Lab and animal results often do not carry over to people, so treat this as a lead and nothing more.
The usual modern form is a granule (a dried powder you stir into hot water). Pills and capsules are also sold. Both are easy to carry and simple to dose.
A herbalist may instead write a raw herb mix for you to boil into a tea. This is called a decoction. It tastes strong and sweet-earthy, and takes 30 to 40 minutes to make.
Buy from a firm that tests each batch. Some imported herb products have been found to hold lead or other heavy metals, or added drugs. A brand that shows test results is worth the extra cost.
The formula is old and well known. It is usually traced to Chinese texts of the Yuan and Ming eras, roughly the 1300s to 1400s.
It has stayed in constant use since then. It sits in modern Chinese hospital manuals and in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and is one of the most used "tonic" formulas for people who fall ill often.
Stop taking it and see a doctor if you get a rash, itching, swelling of the face or lips, or trouble breathing. Get urgent help for breathing trouble.
Also see a doctor if you feel sick, your skin or eyes turn yellow, or your urine turns dark. These can be signs of liver trouble from a bad-quality herb product.
Book an appointment if colds keep coming back after 8 weeks on it, if you sweat heavily for no clear reason, if you lose weight without trying, or if a cough lasts more than three weeks. Tell every doctor and pharmacist that you take this formula, especially before surgery.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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