Cool, Acrid Herbs that Release the Exterior Flashcards
Bo He ***
“Thin Lotus”
Acrid, Aromatic, cool, 3-6g
Enters Lung, Liver
Disperses wind-heat, clears the eyes, head, and throat (early stage of EPF. For HA & Liver fire)
Vents rashes, and early measles (induces to surface)
Allows constrained Liver Qi to flow freely (pain, distention in flanks, chest constraint)
Expels turbid filth (Summer exposure to unclean Qi)
Chan Tui/Chan Yi ***
cicada molting
Sweet, salty, slightly cold (not harsh, lightweight ascends to upper body)
Enters Lung, Liver
Disperses wind, clear heat, benefits throat and voice
Vent rashes: early stage measles
Clears the eyes and removes superficial vision obstruction (painful, red, swollen eyes)
Stops spasms, extinguishes wind (calms convulsions)
Chan Tui Cautions
Animal substance
Do not administer to vegetarian and Jewish clients
Best to inform clients and ask for consent
Chan Tui with Quan Xie
Cicada and Scorpion skin
Commonly used for seizures, tetany, and childhood convulsions.
Chan Tui disperses exterior W-H and extinguishes interior W.
Quan Xie is stronger at stopping tremors and convulsions, guides Chan Tui to interior to pathogenic locus. Combo enhances Quan Xie’s stopping convulsion ability.
Chan Tui with Gou Teng
For continuous night crying in children under 4 months of age
Sang Ye ***
White mulberry leaf
Sweet, bitter, cold (gentle, moistening)
Enters Lung, Liver
Disperses and scatters W-H (good for early stages EPF, twitching and spasms)
Calms Liver and clears the eyes, vertigo (ascendant yang, liver heat or yin xu)
Clears Lungs and moistens dryness
Sang Ye with Ju Hua
Commonly used for expelling W-H, both work synergistically, especially in early stages with fever, HA, cough, sore throat.
Also to cool and calm liver patterns like W-H in channel, fire blazing upward, or vertigo and dizziness due to ascendant Liver yang
Sang Ye with Xing Ren
Sang Ye good for dispersing W-H and draining Lung heat
Xing Ren directs Qi downward while moistening dryness and stopping cough. Their lightness disperses EPF and disseminates lung Qi without damage to yin fluids. Great for HA, fever, and dry, non-productive cough in warm-dry exterior patterns
Ju Hua ***
(chrysanthemum flower)
Ye Ju Hua - wil
Sweet, bitter, slightly cold (mild), 4.5-15g
Enters Lung, Liver
Disperses wind and clears heat
Calms liver and clears the eyes (from W-H and ascendant Liver yang) and treats eye floaters/blurry
Calms liver and extinguishes the wind (spasms, especially in children)
Ye (wild) Ju Hua - clears toxicity, mostly of the skin, superficial level, upper body
Ju Hua with Gou Qi Zi
Gou Qi Zi nourishes, tonifies Liver and Kidneys, increases essence and brightens eyes. Ju Hua expels wind, cools, relieves toxins, cools liver and improves vision.
Best for treating eyes in cases of deficient Liver and Kidney, or rising Liver yang or wind
Ge Gen ***
Sweet, acrid, cool, 9-21g
Enters Spleen, Stomach
Discharges exterior conditions, releases muscles (esp. neck and shoulders)
Relieves heat and generates fluids
Vents and discharges measles (esp. early stage)
Raises the yang and stops HOT diarrhea (relieve heat without damaging fluids good for high, deep fever)
Treats symptoms of hypertension
Ge Gen with Chai Hu
Chai Hu releases the exterior, Ge Gen releases muscle layer heat. Used with exterior patterns where, as chills improve, the fever and stiffening of neck and upper back increase, though sweating is absent.
Ge Gen creates access to muscle layer for Chai Hu to release the heat
Chai Hu ***
Bing’s favorite herb
Bitter, acrid, cool
Enters GB, Liver, PC, SJ
Resolves ShaoYang disorders and reduces fever (#1 shaoyang herb)
Spreads Liver Qi and relieves constraint
Raises and lifts Yang Qi, specifically to clear Qi of Stomach and GB (for sinking organs)
Chai Hu cautions
Raises Yang, so patients may need to take earlier in day or avoid altogether if they have trouble sleeping
Rising and dispersing herb
Chai Hi with Huang Qin
Chai Hu pushes EPF in ShaoYang to exterior, while Huang Qin cools Liver and GB qi level heat and resolves half-internal pathogens.
Also used for GYN heat entering the blood chamber