Good to know
In our TCM guide you will find lots of valuable information concerning Chinese medicines.
Recipes
Winter Magic Chai Tea
Discover our versatile winter magic tea - perfect as a chai and accompanied by a simple recipe for delicious cookies with longan fruit, black sesame and cinnamon. Enjoy the aromatic variety in every sip and bite.
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Frequently asked questions
Besides thorough basic training in traditional Chinese medicine, training in Chinese phytotherapy is also required. For therapists, the status of SBO-TCM-A member (herbalist) or comparable status is required. Physicians can in principle prescribe TCM herbs, but a training course in TCM phytotherapy is strongly recommended
TCM herbs may only be mixed by a pharmacy or a firm with a manufacturing licence. TCM physicians are not permitted to dispense the herbs directly unless they have a dispensing licence. In some Swiss cantons (e.g. Lucerne, Appenzell), pre-packed ready-made formulas can be dispensed. However, the opening of containers and rebottling is considered drug manufacturing and may only be done by pharmacists.
LIAN invoices patients directly for the prescription formulas. The entire cost of storage, invoicing, accounting, etc. is LIAN‘s responsibility. There is no additional administrative work for the prescriber. We therefore recommend that you charge the patient for your time spent ordering and prescribing. When you place your orders through our online ordering system, we save on administrative expenses. If you place over 10 orders per month, we will compensate you for your cooperation in ordering formulas with a sum of CHF 8.– per order.
Herbal teas, chicken soup and rice dishes, as well as the products for external use and for the musculature such as the fluid spray, massage oil, emulgels. Also products for external application such as skin creams, lotions, intensive oil, gels, mask, shampoos, wash gels, balm, foam bath, lip balm, and Hydrovagin can be ordered at resale prices from LIAN. Magistral products for adults, for example HPV gel and ovules, genital mycosis cream and vaginal mycosis ovules, haemorrhoid cream and suppositories, herpes gel, throat and nasal spray, cough syrup and magistral products for children such as drops for strengthening, ear, nose, cough, and colic, and teething gel can only sent by prescription from a TCM therapist or a physician.
Les particuliers peuvent commander des thés gourmands, de la soupe de poulet et du plat de riz ; les produits à usage externe pour la musculature Fluid-Spray, huile de massage, Emulgels ainsi que pour l'usage externe pour la peau Crèmes, Lotion, Huile intensive, Gel, Masque, Shampoings, Gels lavants, Baume.
Raw herbs that are classified as food products may be dispensed to private individuals in accordance with the list below. However, this does not apply to the same substances in granule form.
Our ingenious Online Ordering System (OOS) offers you a versatile and simple solution for ordering our high-quality selection of herbs.
Find out more in our guide article "OOS"
The water should not be hot, but not boiling. The herbal extracts dissolve better this way. You only need a little bit of water to dissolve the herbs in, depending on the dosage, approx. 20-50 ml per dose. The granules can also be swallowed as-is and followed by a drink of water.
Yes, since the granules don't completely dissolve in water, we recommend to stir the granule infusion well before drinking.
If drinking them can't be tolerated because of the unpleasant taste, they can be encapsulated or pressed into tablets.
Raw herbs are cooked daily or done for several days. They are cooked in a cooking pot, or better still in a pressure cooker, for about 1-2 hours. The different substances partly have different cooking times and are therefore sometimes packaged separately. Detailed cooking instructions are usually sent by LIAN. If this is not the case, please contact your doctor or therapist for cooking instructions.
Quality assurance is extensive and is the top priority for our company. Our quality assurance system is based on:
- Cooperation with trustworthy partners in China and Taiwan who have GMP accreditation (GMP = Good Manufacturing Practice)
- Well trained staff in our company
- A sophisticated analysis and safety concept.
In addition, our company is supervised by the cantonal pharmacist of the canton Schwyz and by Swissmedic. You can find more about this topic here:
It is best to contact the two Swiss professional organizations.
- On the website of the association of TCM Therapists you can search by region: SBO TCM
- Through the website of the Swiss association for acupuncturists and Chinese medicine, you can access the FMH doctor's list where you can find doctors who offer Chinese herbal medicine: akupunktur-tcm.ch
The cost of Chinese herbal medicine is generally covered by supplementary health insurance for complementary medicine. Since each supplementary insurance has different conditions and recognises different doctors and therapists, it is worth clarifying with your insurance whether they will cover the cost before starting treatment. This can be done with a short telephone call to your insurance company.
Your doctor or your therapist will be happy to answer this question. If for some reason this is not possible, we can help you.
Be sure to inform your therapist or your doctor of any possible pregnancy, and seek advice from them. There are many herbal formuals that can easily be taken during pregnancy. There are also herbs that you should not take during pregnancy.
Chinese formulas can sometimes cause mild digestive disturbances such as diarrhoea, flatulence or bloating. These inconveniences can usually be remedied by adjusting the dose or the formula. It is not always easy to tailor the formula exactly to the patient, or to take into account all the disease patterns with the same formula. Report such side effects to your therapist so that he can adjust the formula.
You must provide information about which medications you are taking your therapist or doctors in any case. There are cases where Chinese recipes and Western medicines complement each other perfectly, but there are also known unwanted interactions. It is very important that the therapist knows about the Western medicine and Chinese medicine and takes this into consideration.
Animal ethics is a very important concern for us. Animals which are endangered or extinct are not included in our range. In general, we do not carry any products protected by Cites (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). These are also some plants used in Chinese medicine. Exceptions exist when the protected plants can be cultivated. More information on the topic can be found here: Ecology and animal ethics.
One or more herbal granules may be from another manufacturer. Depending on the preparation method or the excipients used, the appearance and smell can be different.
If you experience adverse drug reactions after taking your prescription, we will be happy to help you. You can find more information in our guide.
Prescriptions for personal use can already be ordered during the training to become a Chinese medicine phytotherapist. We grant a discount of 30 percent.
Do you have any further questions?
Give us a call: Tel. 044 786 99 99 or send us an email to info@lian.ch.
