Ch 2 Herbs that clear heat: cool the blood

Question 1

Shui Niu Jiao ***

“water ox horn”

Answer 1

Salty, cold, 6-15g as a powder
Enters Heart, Liver, Stomach
Clears heat, resolves fire toxicity, and cools blood (reduced fever) - for heart heat, blood and ying qi level heat, toxic rashes and sores, stops bleeding
Clears heat and arrests tremors (convulsions, especially in children, and septicemia)

Question 2

Shui Niu Jiao is used in place of what herb?

Answer 2

Xi Jiao (rhinoceros horn)

Question 3

Shui Niu Jiao Vs. Ling Yang Jiao

Answer 3

Both herbs are salty, cool, and resolve toxicity, cool the blood, settle fright, and alleviate convulsions
Shui Niu Jiao enters heart and is best for clearing Heart and blood heat, and dispersing stagnation. For Ying Qi, blood, rashes/sores
Ling Hang Jiao enters Liver and promotes movement of Qi and blood, extinguish wind. For convulsions, wind and eyes

Question 4

General info about herbs that cool the blood

Answer 4

Many nourish yin because heat in the blood damages yin

If there’s a strong heat in the blood may see dark red or even purple tongue, and “Mad Talking”

Question 5

Sheng Di Huang ***

“raw earth yellow”

Answer 5

Sweet, bitter, cold, 9-15g
Enters Heart, Liver, Kidney
Clears heat and cools the blood (strongly clear blood heat, but not used for fever) - for late stage febrile disease with yin xu, for skin disorders, rash, psoriasis
Nourishes the yin and generates fluids - For constipations

Question 6

Sheng Di Huang Cautions

Answer 6

Not for use if patient has loose stools and abdominal fullness

Question 7

Sheng Di Huang with Mu Dan Pi

Answer 7

Both clear heat and cool blood
Mu Dan Pi moves blood, while Sheng Di Huang nourishes yin
Best for blood heat drying the blood leading to stasis with injury to yin. Also used when warm-hot pathogen enters ying or blood levels causing high fever, scarlet tongue, thirst and rash. Nosebleed and spitting up blood may also accompany this condition. Also for residual warm pathogen or Kidney yin xu from steaming bones.

Question 8

Sheng Di Huang with Xuan Shen

Answer 8

Both cool blood, clear heat, nourish yin, generate fluids. Together they treat excess and deficient conditions.
Sheng Di Huang cools blood and stops bleeding.
Xuan Shen cools blood and resolves toxicity
Used together for irritability, thirst, and constipation that accompanies late stage febrile disorders, or for Kidney yin xu with fire blazing upward causing soreness and swelling in throat, dry mouth and tongue.

Question 9

Sheng Di Huang with Bai Mao Gen

Answer 9

Bai Mao Gen very effective for treating Lung and Stomach heat, generating fluids to alleviate thirst. Cools blood to stop bleeding, promotes urination and leads heat downward. Venting and drawing our toxicity
Sheng Di Huang works best at blood level, cooling blood and nourishing yin
Together they strongly cool blood, draw out toxicity, and reduce searing heat. frequently used for pathogenic heat in Ying leve causing fever, thirst, scarlet tongue, and rash. Also for bleeding, heat injuring yin, and prolonged low-grade fever

Question 10

Sheng Di Huang Cautions

Answer 10

Not for use if patient has loose stools or abdominal fullness

Question 11

Xuan Shen ***

Answer 11

Sweet, salty, bitter, cold 9-15g
Enters Kidney, Lung, Stomach
Clears heat and cools the blood - treats rashes
Nourishes yin (especially with sequelae of febrile disease)
Softens hardness and dissipates nodules

Question 12

Xuan Shen Vs. Sheng Di Huang

Answer 12

Both herbs clear heat, cool blood, enrich yin, generate fluids.
Sheng Di Huang is stronger for cooling the blood and stopping bleeding. It focuses on regulating Heart, Liver and Kidneys.
Xuan Shen focuses on entering yin level, directing downward, and resolving toxicity, dispersing clumps, cooling the lungs and benefiting the throat. Mainly focuses on Lung and Kindeys. It is therefore more appropriate for toxic heat causing rashes and skin lesions.

Question 13

Mu Dan Pi ***

bark of tree peony

Answer 13

Acrid, bitter, slightly cold, 6-12g
Enters Heart, Liver, and Kidney
Clears heat and cools the blood (rashes, vomiting blood, nosebleeds)
Clears fire from deficiency (most appropriate when there’s no sweating)
Invigorates blood and dispels blood stasis (MOVING!)
Clears ascending Liver fire
Drains pus and reduces swelling (good for acute trauma)

Question 14

Mu Dan Pi Cautions

Answer 14

Don’s use with pregnant women or during a heavy menstrual flow, too moving!

Question 15

Mu Dan Pi with Chi Shao

Answer 15

Enhance each other’s ability to cool and invigorate blood. Cooling the blood without causing stasis. Appropriate for pathogenic heat in the Ying Qi or blood level (with nosebleeds, spitting up blood, blood in stools and urine, heavy menstrual bleeding, or rashes and other skin disorders). Also for pain caused by blood stasis such as amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, or acute trauma.

Question 16

Mu Dan Pi Vs. Sheng Di Huang

Answer 16

Both herbs used for heat from yin deficiency
Sheng Di Huang alleviates heat as the yin is nourished
Mu Dan Pi disperses heat, thereby assisting yin to recover less directly
Therefore they’re often combined

Question 17

Mu Dan Pi Vs. Chi Shao

Answer 17

Both herbs cool the blood and dispel stasis and are frequently combined to this end.
Mu Dan Pi is more cooling, and clears heat associated with excess and deficiency from the blood
Chi Shao cannot clear heat of yin deficiency from the blood, only excess. But it’s much stronger at invigorating the blood and stopping pain. Focuses more on the Liver

Question 18

Zi Cao**

“purple grass”

Answer 18

Sweet, cold
Enters Heart and Liver
Clears heat, cools the blood, and resolves toxicity while venting rashes (indicated with purple-red rash, psoriasis. May work topically for poison ivy)
Clears damp heat from the skin
Facilitates passage of stool and urine

Question 19

Zi Cao Vs. Niu Bang Zi

Answer 19

Both herbs resolve toxicity, vent rashes, moisten the bowels, and unblock the intestines, and often used together to treat heat toxin preventing the expression of rashes, with constipation.
Zi Cao treats unexpressed rashes due to heat toxin constrained in the blood. Cools blood
Niu Bang Zi treats rashes from W-H in the exterior. Expels wind-heat