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INDIVIDUAL HERBS

NAME: YU XING CAO - 鱼腥草 - HERBA HOUTTUYNIAE

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Herba Houttuyniae
Common English:	Houttuynia Fishwort Herb

CATEGORY:

Herbs That Clean Heat and Purge Fire: Herbs That Clean Heat and Detoxify; Target Warm and Heat Diseases

PROPERTIES:

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Acrid (Sweet) (Salty)	Cool	Lung Large Intestine	10-60g do not decoct longer than 5 minutes Tincture: 2-4ml

ACTIONS AND INDICATIONS:

Actions

Indications/Syndromes

Clears Heat, relieves toxicity, reduces swellings and abscesses and expels pus (acts especially on the Lungs)

Lung Abscess or Lung Heat cough with expectoration of thick, yellowish green sputum, pneumonia, acute and chronic bronchints

Fire toxicity sores Chuang Yung (internal and topical)

Drains Damp-Heat and promotes urination

Damp-Heat in the Lower Jiao with painful urinary dysfunction, enteritis

Large Intestine Damp-Heat diarrhea

CONTRAINDICATIONS AND INCOMPATIBILITIES:

CONTRAINDICATIONS

Use with great caution when injected.
Use caution for those with Deficiency Cold.
Contraindicated for those with Yin furuncles.

INCOMPATIBILITIES

MAJOR COMBINATIONS:

Rx. Platycodi Jie Geng Rz. Phragmitis Lu Gen	Rz. Anemarrhenae Zhi Mu Cx. Mori Sang Bai Pi	Flos Chrysanthemi Ju Hua Flos Lonicerae Jin Yin Hua Hb. Taraxaci Pu Gong Ying
Lung abscess with fever and cough and the production of fetid, purulent sputum.	Cough due to Lung Heat.	Abscess and boils due to Heat Excess. (often used topically)
Sm. Plantaginis Che Qian Zi Rz. Imperatae Bai Mao Gen	Spora Lygodii Hai Jin Sha Fol. Pyrrosiae Shi Wei	Rx. Platycodi *Jie Geng*
Damp-Heat painful urinary dysfunction.	Rough, painful urination.	Lung abscess. Upper respiratory problems.

NOTES:

This herb has recently been used for pneumonia, bronchitis, colitis, and urinary tract infections.
It is used clinically as an injection for chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, chronic cervicitis, and adnexitis.
This herb is said to cure malaria and diseases caused by Summerheat.
This herb has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells and has been used to treat Stomach cancer.
This herb is effective in treating carbuncle due to Toxic Heat, boils, hemorrhoids and Salmiacum Xi Sha poisoning.
Do not boil more than five minutes - it can easily evaporate - air soluble.
This herb is said to be effective for carbuncle of the Lung when smashed and decocted with Hb. Brassicae Junceae.
For boils on the back, smash this herb and apply the juice to the swelling
The fresh herb, when smashed and applied to nail-like boils, can relieve pain and cure them in one to two days.
For tooth decay, mix this herb, Per. Zanthoxyli, canola oil and a little mud, make into pills the size of beans and plug into the antrum auris on the same side as the decayed tooth.
It is said that long-term use of this herb causes asthenic fever, damages the vitality and weakens the bone marrow.
For scabies and boils, heat the fresh leaves and apply to the lesions.
For swelling due to scabies and boils, wash with a decoction of this herb.
It is said that chewing the root of this herb prevents angina pectoris.
Large doses of this herb are very effective in treating the complicated infections of Lung cancer.
Both Yu Xing Cao and Hb. Patriniae Bai Jiang Cao clear head, resolve toxicity, reduce sores and expel pus. Bai Jiang Cao is bitter, acrid, slightly cold, enters the Qi and Blood levels and excels at clearing Heat from the Stomach and Intestines. it treats abscesses of the Lungs, Liver and Intestines and expels Blood Stagnation to alleviate pain. It treats pelvic Blood Stagnation and toxic accumulation such as might occur in postpartum lochia. Yu Xing Cao is acrid, cold and primarily enters the Lung channel. It is best for cooling Lung Heat, eliminating toxicity manifested as Lung abscess and expelling pus. It also promotes urination and unblocks painful urinary dysfunction.