Herbs That Warm The Interior And Expel Cold

Herbs That Warm the Interior and Expel Cold:

  • Used to treat internal cold - either internally generated or from an opportunistic infection (OPI).
  • Cold from deficiency patterns - cold limbs, fear of cold, pallid complexion, lack of thirst but desire for hot drinks, loose stools, white tongue coat, slow pulse; In serious cases - profuse sweating, watery stools, minute and deep pulse.
  • Invasion of cold usually attacks the spleen and stomach - nausea, vomiting, belching, diarrhea.

Section Herbal Summary:

  • Gan Jiang, Fu Zi - rescue devastated yang from collapse.
    • Gan Jiang - cold from spleen and stomach deficiency; long-lasting effect.
    • Fu Zi - warms and tonifies spleen and kidney yang; immediate actions.
  • Gan Jiang, Wu Zhu Yu, Liang Jiang - disperse cold from the middle warmer and treats pain and coldness in the epigastrium.
    • Gan Jiang - also warms lungs and transforms phlegm and stops coughing.
    • Wu Zhu Yu - warms lower jiao and treats cold hernial disorders or diarrhea due to cold int he lower burner; belching and vomiting with more liver involvement.
    • Gao Liang Jiang - warms the stomach and treats epigastric pain and coldness with belching or vomiting.
  • Fu Zi, Rou Gui - warms and tonify the fire at the gate of vitality (ming men) and are used in treating yang deficiency and cold from deficiency of the lower burner.
    • Rou Gui - milder in action, treats lower burner disorders, leads fire to its source, and is diaphoretic; not used to rescue the yang from collape.

Chinese Herbsort icon Functions and Usage
Chuan Jiao (Szechuan Pepper)
  • Warms the middle warmer, disperses cold, alleviates abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea - spleen or stomach cold from deficiency patterns.
  • Abdominal pain due to roundworms (auxiliary herb).
Ding Xiang (Clove Flower Bud)
  • Warms middle warmer, directs rebellious Qi downward - cold in the stomach with vomiting, hiccups, abdominal pain, diarrhea.
  • Warms kidney yang - impotence, leukorrhea due to Kidney yang deficiency.
Fu Zi (Prepared Aconite Root)
  • Restores devastated yang - extreme cold limbs with abundant cold symptoms.
  • Assists heart yang to unblock vessels and improve circulation, tonifies kidney yang to augment fire and avoid loss of the basal yang.
  • Warms fire and assists yang - any problem associated with weak heart, spleen, and/or kidneys.
  • Disperses cold, warms the channels, alleviates pain - wind-damp-cold bi, cold blocking organs, channels, sinews, bones or blood vessels.
Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger Root)
  • Warms the middle and expels cold - warms spleen and stomach both in conditions of excess due to externally contacted cold, as well as cold from deficiency due to yang qi deficiency.
  • Rescues devastated yang, expels interior cold - very weak pulse and cold limbs.
  • Warms the lungs and transforms phlegm - lung cold with thin, watery or white sputum.
  • Warms the channels, stops bleeding - hemorrhage of various types, especially for uterine bleeding (must be due to cold - chronic and pale in color, with cold limbs, soggy pulse).
Gao Liang Jiang (Galangal Rhizome)
  • Warms the middle warmer, alleviates pain - epigastric/abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, hiccup due to cold in the middle warmer.
Rou Gui (Dried Cinammon Bark)
  • Warms the kidneys and fortifies yang - aversion to cold, cold limbs, weak back, impotence, frequent urination; also for waning of spleen and kidney yang with abdominal pain and cold, reduced appetite, diarrhea; wheezing due to failure of the kidneys to grasp the Qi.
  • Leads floating yang back to its source - upward floating of deficient yang; flushed face, wheezing, severe sweating (like oil), weak and cold lower extremities, deficient and rootless pulse (false heat-true cold, or heat above-cold below).
  • Disperses deep cold, warms the channels, alleviates pain due to cold causing qi or blood stasis; amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea.
  • Encourages generation of Qi and blood.
Wu Zhu Yu (Evodia Fruit)
  • Warms the middle, disperses cold, relieves constraint in the liver channel and alleviates pain - headaches, nausea, cold hernia in the liver channel region.
  • Redirects stomach Qi downwards - due to liver and/or stomach disharmony.
  • Warms the spleen and expels damp cold, stops diarrhea.
  • Leads fire downwards - mouth/tongue canker sores (externally applied to canker sores).
Xiao Hui Xiang (Fennel Seed)
  • Spreads liver Qi, warms the kidneys, expels cold, alleviates pain - cold hernial disorders, lower abdominal pain due to cold.
  • Regulates Qi and harmonizes the stomach - stomach cold with abdominal pain, indigestion, reduced appetite, vomiting.