To treat nosebleeds, take 30 grams of lotus stem (which can be used alone or in combination with Chinese chives, in equal amounts), wash it thoroughly, pound it to extract the juice, and drop it into the nostrils; the bleeding will stop immediately.
The lotus stem is the segmented rhizome of the lotus plant, submerged in the mud of ponds and lakes, with a diameter of 3-5 cm. The outer surface is light brown, while the cross-section reveals cavities arranged like a flower’s petals. The lotus stem contains up to 70% starch and various other substances.
In traditional medicine and folk experience, the lotus stem is used under the name “lian qiu,” having a sweet taste with a slight stickiness due to its resin, with a cool and neutral nature, making it non-toxic. When used raw, it has a cooling effect; when cooked, it has a warming effect. Its primary function is to stop bleeding, nourish blood, and regulate menstruation, and it is used in the following cases:
– Hemoptysis: Take 7 pieces of lotus stem and 7 pieces of lotus leaf stalks, wash them, pound them, and boil with 400 ml of water until it reduces to 100 ml. Add a little honey or sugar and take it hot, twice a day (as noted in the “Divine Efficacy of Southern Medicine”). Alternatively, use 30 g of lotus stem and 10 g of Chinese plantain, pound them, and extract the juice to drink.
– Coughing up blood: Use 20 g of lotus stem, 20 g of lily roots or Chinese plantain leaves, and 10 g of houttuynia, chop them finely, dry them, and brew to drink twice a day.
– Irregular menstruation: Mix 20 g of lotus stem and 12 g of burnt gourd root (roasted until all roots and hairs are gone), dry, grind into a fine powder, and mix with honey or syrup to form pills the size of mung beans. Take two times a day, 50 pills each time with hot water.
– Dengue fever: Use 30 g of lotus stem, 30 g of gotu kola, and 20 g of plantago. Brew and drink one batch daily.
– Hematuria: Combine 12 g each of lotus stem, corydalis, shan zhi zi, da huang, and mu tong; 20 g of rehmannia; 16 g of talc; and 6 g each of licorice and angelica. Chop everything finely and brew to drink throughout the day.
– Uterine bleeding: Use 12 g each of lotus stem, baical skullcap, and donkey-hide gelatin; 12 g of shan zhi zi; and 12 g of di yu; 20 g each of oyster shell and angelica root; 16 g of rehmannia; 10 g of dried tangerine peel; and 4 g of licorice. Brew and drink one batch daily.
Additionally, traditional medicine also uses the segments of the lotus stem (referred to as “qiu jie”) for their blood-stopping effects, similar to that of the lotus stem itself.
DS. Bao Hoa
