Heat Clearing and Blood Cooling Herbs

Chp 2 - Heat Clearing Herbs, focus on actions and indications

shēng dì huáng 生地黃

1. Clears heat + cools blood

• invading ying (nutritive) and xue (blood) levels

• Bleeding

• dermatological disorders

2. Nourishes yin and promotes generation of body fluids

• Febrile disorders injuring the yin (wasting and thirsting disorders)

• Late stage febrile disorders - presence of heat with severe damage to yin and body fluids

• Constipation

• Lin zheng (dysuria syndrome)

xuán shēn 玄參

1. Clears heat + nourishes yin

• heat in ying (nutritive level)

• excess heat accompanied by damage to yin or drying of body fluids

2. Eliminates toxins and disperses nodules

mǔ dān pí 牡丹皮

1. Clears heat + cools blood

• Yin-deficient heat

• Heat in the xue (blood)

• menstrual disorders

• liver yang rising or liver fire

2. invigorates blood circulation and disperses blood stasis

• amenorrhea or abdominal masses

• bruises resulting from traumatic injuries

• Abscess

chì sháo 赤芍

1. Clears heat, cools blood

2. dispels blood stasis, relives pain

3. reduces swelling from sores and abscesses

4. Clears heat and relieves eye pain

• Rising liver yang - redness, swelling, pain in eyes

zi cao gen 紫草根 (zi cao紫草)

1. cools blood, invigorates blood circulation, and relieves toxins

2. eliminates heat and toxins from the skin

3. moistens the intestine and unblocks the bowels

• constipation