Important Herbs for Exam 3 Essay

Da Huang

Properties: bitter, cold
Channels entered: Heart, Large Intestine, Liver, Stomach
Key characteristics: purges clumped heat in the Intestines, cools the
blood, removes blood stasis; in its charred form, can stop bleeding

Mike’s Stories: Dr. Huang’s chicken - died because her yang ming tube was blocked. Chronic cases of men who drink a lot of alcohol and eat a lot of fried foods - blocked tubes - can cause mental fog. Hard belly, red face, fast pulse, agitation. Pushes the boat - poop

Actions and Indications:

1. Drains heat and purges accumulations: for high fever, profuse sweating, thirst, constipation, abdominal distention and pain, delirium, yellow tongue coating, and a full pulse. This presentation is referred to either as Intestinal heat excess or the yang brightness organ-stage of the six stages of disease.
2. Drains fire: for fire from excess leading to intense fever, sore throat, hot, swollen, and painful eyes, or fire toxin sores due to heat excess obstructing the blood level. Particularly useful when there is problems are accompanied by constipation.
3. Clears heat, transforms dampness, and promotes urination: for damp heat leading to such problems as edema, jaundice, painful urinary dribbling, as well as acute, hot dysenteric disorders.
4. Drains heat from the blood: for blood in the stool either from bleeding hemorrhoids or heat accumulating in the intestines. Also for chaotic movement for hot blood that overflows, manifested in vomiting blood or nosebleed accompanied by constipation. Can
be powdered and administered orally for bleeding from the upper digestive tract. This is an important herb because it can stop bleeding without causing blood stasis.
5. Invigorates the blood and dispels blood stasis: for amenorrhea, fixed abdominal masses, or fixed pain due to blood stasis. Also for blood stasis due to traumatic injury or Intestinal abscess. This is an important herb for treating both recent and long-term blood stasis as it can both eliminate static blood that is outside the vessels via the bowels and clear the heat that often develops form stasis. It is used both internally and externally.
6. Clears heat and reduces fire toxicity: used either topically or internally for burns or skin lesions due to heat.

Mang Xiao

Properties: acrid, bitter, salty, very cold
Channels entered: Stomach, Large Intestine
Key characteristics: softens hardened clumping of pathogenic heat in the Intestines

Mike’s Stories: Colonoscopy prep is similar to this mineral, floods the lock to float the boat - poop

Actions and Indications:

1. Purges accumulations and guides out stagnation: for heat in the Stomach and Intestine with constipation; this substance moistens dryness and softens hardness. “Float the boat”
2. Clears heat and drains fire: for a wide variety of problems associated with heat in the Lungs and/or stomach (+Huang Qin). Especially useful for accumulation such as phlegm or clumping in the Intestines.
3. Clears heat and reduces swelling: for red, swollen, painful eyes; painful, swollen, ulcerated mouth or throat; and red, swollen skin lesions including breast problems. For external use. Can be sued alone for the early stages of breast abscess before it has suppurated. Also helps promote lactation.

Fu Ling

Properties: sweet, bland, neutral
Channels entered: Heart, Spleen, Kidney, Lung
Key characteristics: tonifies the Spleen, eliminates dampness, calms the Heart spirit

Mike’s Story: Bland governs percolation- Bland leeches out dampness, percolates dampness and promotes urination - perc test

Actions and Indications:
1. Promotes urination and leaches out dampness: for urinary difficulty, diarrhea, or edema due to stagnation of fluids or dampness. Also used in cases of scanty urine due to damp-heat.

2. Strengthen the Spleen and harmonizes the middle burner: for spleen deficiency compounded by dampness with such symptoms as loss of appetite, diarrhea, and epigastric distention.

3. Strengthen the Spleen and transforms phlegm: for spleen deficiency with think mucus in which phlegm moves upward with such symptoms as palpitations, headache, dizziness, and thick, greasy tongue coating.

4. Quiets the Heart and calms the spirit: for palpitations, insomnia, or forgetfulness due to either spleen and Heart insufficiency or internal obstruction of turbid phlegm

Yi Yi Ren

Properties: sweet, bland, slightly cold
Channels entered: Lungs, Spleen, Stomach, Kidney
Key characteristics: tonifies the Spleen and augments the Lungs; leaches out dampness from the bones, sinews, and muscles to treat painful obstruction disorder; cools heat and expels pus to treat sores and abscesses

Mike’s Stories: Lung Abscesses

Actions and Indications:
1. Facilitates the resolution of dampness and strengthens the Spleen：for edema, diarrhea, leg qi, painful urinary dribbling, and damp-warmth. It treats both the root and manifestations of these disorders.
2. Facilitates the resolution of dampness and eliminates painful obstruction: for wind-damp painful obstruction. Especially effective for increasing joint mobility and reducing spasms in chronic cases. (“Spleen governs flesh”)
3. Clears heat and expels pus: for soft, postulated carbuncles as well as Lung or Intestinal abscess. (“Spleen damp manifests in the lungs”)
4. Clears damp-heat: for any damp-heat disorder at any level characterized by a greasy tongue coating and digestive problems

Du Huo

Sang Ji Sheng