Herbs That Drain Fire

Herbs That Drain Fire:

Very cold - for high fever, irritability, thirst, delirium associated with febrile disease.
Qi level or yang ming level disorders.

Section Herbal Summary:

Most herbs here affect the qi level of disease.
Herbal choice is made depending on the severity of the condition and the location of the heat.
Shi Gao, Zhi Mu, Lu Gen - major substances for clearing heat from the lungs and stomach at the qi level.

Zhi Mu - not as strong as Shi Gao, but nourishes yin and moistens dryness.
Lu Gen - sweet and cold; best used for treating heat disorders where the yin has been injured.

Zhi Zi - clears heat and drains fire, relatively mild; for initial stages of heat disorders with irritability, jaundice and hot painful urinary dysfunction (eliminates damp-heat).
Dan Zhu Ye - clears fire from heart and stomach.
Jue Ming Zi, Gu Jing Cao, Mi Meng Hua, Qing Xuang Zi - clear heat from the liver, clearing the vision; for pain, redness, and swelling of the eyes.

Jue Ming Zi relieves accumulated heat in the liver channel and pacifies the liver, extinguishes fire, and moistens the intestines.
Gu Jing Cao disperses wind and clears the vision, eye disorders due to wind-heat, and remove superficial visual obstruction.
Mi Meng Hua nourishes the liver and treats deficiency patterns of blurred vision.
Qing Xiang Zi drains fire and clears vision and treats pain, redness, and swelling of the eyes associated with excessive conditions of blazing liver fire.

Chinese Herb	Functions and Usage
Dan Zhu Ye (Lophatherum Stem and Leaves)	Clears heat - heat patterns with irritability and thirst, mouth sores and swollen, painful gums due to heat in the heart or stomach channels. Promotes urination and clears damp-heat - lin syndrome, especially for heat in the small intestine channel with above symptoms and dark red tip on the tongue.
Gu Jing Cao (Pipewort Scapus, Inflorescence)	Disperse wind-heat, brighten the eyes - wind-heat entering the liver channel causing red, swollen eyes, floaters, pterygium.
Han Shui Shi (Calcitum)	Drains fire and expels summer-heat - high fever, irritability, thirst, yellow tongue coat associated with summer heat. Burns and sores, throat and oral ulcers (topically).
Jiu Chao Zhi Mu (Wine Fried Anemarrhena Rhizome)	This is the wine fried version of zhi mu. For general usage information see the Zhi Mu page. Frying helps to moderate the bitter and cold aspects.
Jue Ming Zi (Cao Jue Ming, Foetid Cassia Seeds)	Clears the vision and expels wind-heat - itchy, red and painful eyes, sensitivity to light due to wind-heat (stronger action in clearing liver-heat/fire than Qing Xiang Zi and Mi Meng Hua; also nourishes kidney yin and liver yin). Moistens intestines and unblocks the bowels - dry, chronic constipation especially due to liver yin deficiency. Lowers blood pressure and serum cholesterol.
Lian (Zi) Xin (Lotus Plumule)	Drains heart fire - for warm-febrile disease where heat collapses into the pericardium channel causing confusion, delirium; insomnia and irritability due to excessive heart fire. Stops bleeding, binds the essence - vomiting blood, spermatorrhea.
Lu Gen (Reed Rhizome)	Clears heat, generates fluids - heat patterns with high fever, irritability, thirst. Clears lung heat - cough, thick yellow sputum. Clears stomach heat - vomiting, belching. Clears heat, diuretic - dark, scanty urine, xue lin, accompanied by thirst and irritability. Encourages rashes to the surface - for febrile disease with rashes that are incompletely expressed.
Mi Meng Hua (Buddleia Flower Bud)	Benefits the eyes - red, swollen, painful eyes, excessive tearing, light sensitivity, superficial visual obstruction; both excessive and deficient patterns (nourishes yin and blood).
Qing Xiang Zi (Celosia Seeds)	Drains liver fire, clears wind heat, improves vision - either wind-heat or liver fire causing red, painful eyes, superficial visual obstruction, and cataracts (stronger effect than Mi Meng Hua for excess fire). Impaired, blurred vision - combine with Jue Ming Zi and Mi Meng Hua. Hypertension due to liver yang rising.
Shi Gao (Gypsum)	The most important herb to clear internal heat, especially in the qi and yang ming levels. Clears heat, drains fire (heavy, descending) - high fever with no chills, excessive thirst, sweating, flooding and big pulse (the "4 bigs"), irritability, red tongue with yellow coat. Clears excess lung heat - cough, wheezing, fever, thick yellow sputum. Clears blazing stomach fire - headache, toothache, painful and swollen gums. Topically for eczema, burns, ulcerated sores; may also be taken internally.
Xia Ku Cao (Selfheal Spike, Prunella)	Clears liver and brightens the eyes - ascending liver fire with red, painful, swollen eyes, headache, dizziness (stronger than Mi Meng Hua, Jue Ming Zi, Qing Xiang Zi in clearing heat). Clears heat and dissipates nodules - neck lumps, scrofula, lipoma, goiter, swollen glands due to phlegm fire. Hypertension accompanied by liver fire or yang rising.
Xian Lu Gen (Fresh Reed Rhizome)	This is Lu Gen in its fresh form. See the Lu Gen page for all indications. Xian Lu Gen is stronger in clearing heat, generating body fluids and promoting urination than the dried herb.
Xiong Dan (Bear Gallbladder)	Clears heat and alleviates spasms - high fever and convulsions in febrile disease. Topically to relieve fire toxicity, hot skin lesions. Red, painful eyes due to liver fire. Reduces swelling and pain - trauma, sprains, fracture, hemorrhoids.
Ye Ming Sha (Bat Feces)	Clears liver and improves vision - night blindness, cataracts. Childhood nutritional impairment.
Zhi Mu (Anemarrhena Rhizome)	Clears heat, drains fire - high fever, irritability, thirst, and a rapid flooding pulse in patterns of excessive heat in the lungs and/or stomach; cough due to lung heat with thick yellow sputum. Nourishes yin, moistens dryness - deficiency of lung and kidney yin, night sweats, steaming bone disorder, irritability, afternoon or low-grade fevers, bleeding gums, five-center heat; also for kidney heat signs - spermatorrhea, nocturnal emission, high sexual desire. Generates fluids and clears heat - oral ulcers and inflammation due to yin deficiency, wasting and thirsting disorder.
Zhi Zi (Cape Jasmine Fruit, Gardenia)	Clears heat (Heart and Liver), eliminates irritability - heat patterns with fever, restlessness, insomnia, delirium, stifling sensation in the chest. Drains damp heat - lin (urinary dysfunction) syndrome due to damp-heat in the lower warmer, damp-heat and constrained liver and gallbladder causing jaundice, damp-heat in the gall bladder and triple heater channels of the face - eyes, nose, sores in the mouth and face. Cools the blood, stops bleeding - nosebleed, blood in vomit, stool, urine; (needs to partially charred). Topically for blood stasis due to trauma, reduces swelling.