【Chinese Name】 |
茵陳蒿湯
|
【Phonetic】 |
Yin Chen Hao Tang
|
【English Name】 |
Virgate Wormwood Decoction |
【Classification】 |
Dampclearing formulas |
【Source】 |
《Treatise on Cold Damage》Shang Han Lun《傷寒論》 |
【Combination】 |
Artemisiae Scopariae Herba (Yin Chen) 6 liang (18g), Gardeniae Fructus (Zhi Zi) 14 pieces (12g), Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (Da Huang) 2 liang (6g) |
【Method】 |
Prepare as a decoction. |
【Action】 |
Clears heat, drains dampness, and relieves jaundice. |
【Indication】 |
Yin Chen Hao Tang is indicated for damp-heat jaundice. The symptoms are bright yellow discoloration of the skin, fever, absence of sweating or only sweating on the head, thirst with a desire to drink, nausea, vomiting, slight abdominal distension, scanty and dark urine, diarrhea, or constipation. The tongue is red with a greasy and yellow coating. The pulse is either deep, rapid or slippery, rapid and powerful. |
【Pathogenesis】 |
This formula is a common formula used to treat damp-heat jaundice.《Treatise on Cold Damage》explains that it is used for yellow skin discoloration due to the interaction of blood stasis and heat.《Essentials from the Golden Cabinet》explains that it is used for dietary jaundice. Both are caused by heat invasion that mixes with spleen-dampness to cause damp-heat accumulation in the middle jiao. Damp-heat always obstructs qi movement. The manifestations include abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, incomplete defecation, and constipation. Heat is trapped inside due to an absence of sweating and dampness cannot pour downward due to dysuria. Consequently, damp-heat enters the liver and gallbladder causing an overflow of bile that results in bright yellow skin. Fluid transformation disturbed by damp-heat leads to thirst. A greasy and yellow tongue coating and a deep, rapid pulse indicate an accumulation of damp-heat. The therapeutic principles used to remedy this pattern are to clear heat, drain dampness, and relieve jaundice. |
【Application】 |
1. Essential pattern differentiation Yin Chen Hao Tang is a commonly used formula applicable for jaundice due to damp-heat with equal dampness and heat. This clinical pattern is marked by yellow discoloration of the skin, face, and eyes; the yellow is bright, deep and rapid pulse, or slippery, rapid, and powerful pulse. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of interior damp-heat accumulation: infectious hepatitis with acute jaundice, cholecystitis, gallstone, and jaundice caused by leptospirosis. |
【Additonal formulae】 |
1. Zhi Zi Bai Pi Tang (Gardenia and Phellodendron Bark Decoction 梔子柏皮湯) [Source]《Treatise on Cold Damage》Shang Han Lun《傷寒論》 [Ingredients] Zhi zi 15 pieces (10g), zhi gan cao 1 liang (3g), huang bai 2 liang (6g) [Preparation and Administration] Prepare it as a decoction. [Actions] Clears heat and drains dampness. [Applicable Patterns] Jaundice with more heat than dampness. Symptoms include: feverish sensation, yellow skin discoloration, vexation, thirst, and a yellow coating. 2. Yen Chen Si Ni Tang (Virgate Wormwood Frigid Extremities Decoction 茵陳四逆湯) [Source]《Subtle Meaning of Treatise on Cold Damage》Shang Han Wei Zhi Lun《傷寒微旨論》 [Ingredients] Gan cao 2 liang (6g), yin chen 2 liang (6g), gan jiang 1.5 liang (4.5g), fu zi one piece (6g) [Preparation and Administration] Prepare it as a decoction. [Actions] Warms the interior and assists yang, drains dampness and removes jaundice. [Applicable Patterns] Yin jaundice. Symptoms include: dark and gloomy skin, aversion to cold on the back, cold extremities, heaviness of the body, mental fatigue, poor appetite, no thirst or preferring hot drinks, loose stool, a pale tongue with a white coating, and a tight, thready pulse or deep, thready, and weak pulse. |
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