INDIVIDUAL HERBS
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Gypsum Fibrosum |
| Common English: | Gypsum |
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
Sweet Acrid |
Very Cold |
Lung Stomach |
15-60g Up to 90g for very high fevers (30g in children) |
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Clears Heat in the Qi Stage, drains Fire, relieves irritability and quenches thirst |
Heat in the Qi Stage or Yang Ming Heat with high fever, no chills, irritability, intense thirst, profuse sweating, a flooding, big pulse and a red tongue with a yellow coat |
Clears Excess Heat from the Lungs |
Lung Heat with cough, wheezing, fever and a thick viscous sputum |
Clears Blazing Stomach Fire |
Stomach Fire with headache, toothache or swollen gums |
Heals eczema, burns and ulcerated sores and wounds |
Sores and wounds (topically or internally) |
CONTRAINDICATIONS |
|
INCOMPATIBILITIES |
HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
Rz. Anemarrhenae |
Hb. Lophatheri |
Cornu Rhinoceri |
| High fever from Wind-Heat or Qi Stage Heat or Yang Ming Heat with irritability and extreme thirst Epidemic diseases |
Lingering fever from febrile disease with insomnia, irritability and a scanty dry tongue coat Cough with fever in children Heart and Stomach Heat with mouth ulcers and swollen gums |
Epidemic Damp-Heat toxin with high fever, loss of consciousness, epistaxis, and rash |
Hb. Lophatheri |
Rx. Rehmanniae Preparata |
|
Heat in the Qi or Yang Ming Stage |
Lingering fever from late stage febrile disease with dysphoria, thirst and a red tongue with no coat |
Headache, toothache, and thirst due to raging fire caused by devastated Yin |
Rx. Rehmanniae |
Rx. Ephedrae |
|
Excessive Fire with injured fluids |
Cough from Heat Obstructing the Lungs with wheezing, flaring of the nostrils and fever Wind-edema |
Heat at the Qi and Blood Stages with skin eruptions and echymosis |
Flos Lonicerae |
Hb. Asari |
|
Lung Heat with cough and asthma |
Heat toxin in the Lungs |
Toothache and gum swelling due to Blazing Stomach Fire |
Rx. Rehmanniae |
Rx. Achyranthis Bidentate |
|
Stomach Fire |
Stomach Fire with headache and swollen painful gums |
Nausea and vomiting from Stomach Heat |
Cx. Phellodendri |
Rz. Zingiberis Recens |
|
Prepared with calcined Gypsum Duan Shi Gao, for burns and eczema |
Eczema, burns and abscesses |
Decreases muscular swelling |
Cx. Moutan |
Rx. Ginseng |
|
Wind-Cold with Interior Heat |
Excessive Heat in the Qi and Xue Levels with continuous high fever and maculae |
Excessive Heat with Qi Deficiency |
Rx. Ginseng |
Rx. Scutellariae |
Rz. Coptidis |
Excessive Heat with Qi and Yin Deficiencies |
Toxic Heat with infection |
Influenza, epidemic poliomyelitis and epidemic encephalitis B with high fever, headache irritability dry mouth insomnia and in severe cases, bleeding |
- Calcined (dehydrated) and mixed with other herbs it is applied topically for sores, eczema, abscess, ulcers and burns.
- It moderates the extreme warmth and Dryness (diaphoretic effects) of Rx. Ephedrae Ma Huang and helps activate its diuretic effect.
- There are two kinds - soft (monoclinic) and hard (rhombic).
- It is added to formulas when the patient is suffering from severe Heat.
- The antipyretic action is strong and fast but not long lasting.
- It is said to nourish Body Fluids, stop thirst, relieve irritability and relieve the muscles.
- Both Shi Gao and Rz. Anemarrhenae Zhi Mu cool the Lungs and Stomach and clear Heat from the Yang Ming Qi Level. Zhi Mu primarily drains Heat and Dampness, cools the Lungs and Kidneys, nourishes Yin and benefits Yin by generating fluids while Shi Gao protects the fluids by draining Fire.
- Both Shi Gao and Talcum Hua Shi clear Heat and alleviate thirst. Hua Shi is appropriate thirst due to Summerheat with Dampness and dark urine that is difficult to pass. It is inappropriate for Dry Heat. Shi Gao is best used for when pathogenic Heat has entered the Yang Ming Stage with dried out fluids.
- Unprepared Gypsum Sheng Shi Gao is the form most commonly used internally.
- Calcined Gypsum Duan Shi Gao is a fine powder that is less cold with enhanced ability to generate flesh and is most often used externally for eczema, scalding, and erupted sore or wounds that fail to heal.
- It has success in treating osteoarthritis, osteitis, and other metabolic skeletal disorders with pain, and stiffness.