Although it is already 2026, according to the lunar calendar, we haven't entered the twelfth month yet, and it's currently the coldest time of the year.

Normally, this should be a very cold season, but the temperature has remained around ten degrees Celsius, creating a feeling of dryness as if being baked by heat. This external environment of "dryness combined with deficient heat" is not favorable for children with delicate internal organs.

Moreover, during winter, people tend to consume more warm-natured foods, particularly spicy, stimulating, warm, thick, and greasy items. Additionally, some children frequently stay up late due to heavy academic workloads. Under these dual influences, body fluids are easily depleted.

Many children visiting the clinic present with such issues:

● Dry mouth and throat, with drinking water failing to quench thirst;

● Frequent internal heat, mouth and tongue ulcers, and dry, hardened stools.

● Prolonged spleen deficiency is often accompanied by poor appetite, abdominal distention, sallow complexion, and may even affect growth and development. This is because insufficient body fluids can indirectly lead to a deficiency in the production of qi and blood, failing to nourish the organs and meridians.

Therefore, it is essential to learn how to replenish body fluids for children during winter. Below, I will share several tea recipes that are simple and easy to prepare at home.

Tangerine Peel and Licorice Tea

Prepare 3 grams of tangerine peel, 2 grams of licorice, 3 grams of ophiopogon root, and 2 grams of lophatherum. Add 500 ml of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

This tea beverage is mild and non-cooling, specially designed for children with weak spleen and stomach accompanied by mild accumulation of heat. It not only strengthens the spleen, regulates qi, and resolves spleen-stomach qi stagnation but also clears and moistens body fluids, alleviating dry mouth.

Spleen-Fortifying and Heart-Clearing Tea

Prepare 3g of lophatherum herb, 5g of reed rhizome, 6g of Chinese yam, 1g of lotus plumule, and 2g of licorice root. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

This tea beverage promotes the production of body fluids while also clearing heart fire, making it suitable for children experiencing dry mouth, restless sleep, and red tongue tips.

Here are two tea formulas that can be used for daily health maintenance.

Considering that I see such children every year in the clinic, and since the spleen and stomach are the source of body fluid production, I specially formulated a herbal paste. Its formula is simple and suitable for children to consume.

Stomach-harmonizing and digestion-promoting ointment

Composition: Charred Hawthorn, Charred Barley, Charred Medicated Leaven, Chicken Gizzard Skin, Tangerine Peel, Immature Bitter Orange, Chinese Angelica, Licorice

The combination of Charred Hawthorn, Charred Barley, Charred Medicated Leaven, and Chicken Gizzard Skin in the formula focuses on strengthening the function of the middle energizer, promoting digestion and resolving food stagnation, thereby restoring the spleen and stomach's ability to digest and transform, which serves as the source of body fluid production;

Tangerine Peel and Immature Bitter Orange regulate qi and promote its flow, harmonize the qi movement in the middle energizer, assist the spleen in ascending and the stomach in descending, ensuring smooth pathways for the distribution of body fluids;

Supplemented with Chinese Angelica to nourish the blood and moisten dryness, indirectly enriching yin and moisturizing dryness;

甘草甘缓和中，既能调和诸药，又能补益脾胃之气，助其化生津液。 Licorice root, with its sweet and harmonizing properties, not only harmonizes the various herbs but also tonifies the Qi of the spleen and stomach, aiding in the generation of fluids.

The whole prescription combines purging and tonifying, restoring spleen and stomach function through strengthening the spleen and stomach, promoting transportation and transformation, and moving qi stagnation, thereby naturally generating body fluids and normalizing their distribution, collectively achieving the effect of harmonizing the spleen and stomach and promoting fluid production.

The formula is prepared as an herbal paste for the convenience of children, with one spoonful mixed with boiling water for each dose. It is made purely from Chinese herbs and has no side effects.

Many children with food stagnation are generally advised to take this in combination. Within a few days of taking it, the tongue coating becomes clean, bowel movements smooth, and nighttime sleep becomes much more restful.