Bupleurum Decoction Plus Dragon Bone and Oyster Shell

傷寒論

-- In cold damage for eight or nine days, after purgation, with chest fullness, vexation and fright, inhibited urination, delirious speech, and generalized heaviness of the whole body with inability to turn from side to side, Chai Hu Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang governs it. (Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage))

Bupleurum 4 liang, Scutellaria 1.5 liang, Ginseng 1.5 liang, Cinnamon Twig 1.5 liang, Poria 1.5 liang, Pinellia 2.5 ge, Rhubarb 2 liang, Dragon Bone 1.5 liang, Oyster Shell 1.5 liang, Fresh Ginger 1.5 liang, Jujube 6 pieces, Lead Elixir 1.5 liang. For the twelve ingredients above, use 8 sheng of water, boil to obtain 4 sheng, add rhubarb cut like chess pieces, boil again for one or two boils, and remove the dregs. Take 1 sheng warm. (Yi Fang Ji Jie)

Boil nine bowls of water down to three bowls; add Cinnamon Twig later and boil only 15 minutes. Take one bowl warm after each meal.

湯劑

Harmonize qi and blood, Calm the spirit and settle fright.

Chest fullness and oppression, umbilical throbbing, heart vexation, palpitations and restlessness, sleep disturbance, inhibited urination, delirious speech, generalized heaviness of the whole body with difficulty turning from side to side, yellow greasy tongue coating, and a wiry, hard, and forceful pulse.

If there is yang deficiency with loose stools and diarrhea: add Prepared Aconite: 10, Dried Ginger: 10. -- Severe insomnia, enlarged tongue with teeth marks, right cubit pulse deep and tight or weak: combine with Hui Yang Yin. -- Blood deficiency with heavy dampness, or local convulsions, or dizziness, or blurred vision, or eyelid edema, or headache, or hypertension in women: combine with Danggui Shaoyao San. -- Stroke, or eye stroke, or fundal hemorrhage: add Notoginseng: 3. -- Irritability, lower abdominal pain, constipation: combine with Taohe Chengqi Tang. -- Stroke or cerebral infarction, or irritability and insomnia, dark red face, purple tongue with ecchymotic spots: combine with Guizhi Fuling Wan. -- Severe insomnia, red tongue proper: combine with Suanzaoren Tang. -- Hypertension, irritability with epigastric stuffiness; or cerebral hemorrhage: combine with Sanhuang Xiexin Tang. -- Anxiety and restlessness, chest tightness and abdominal distension: combine with Zhizi Houpo Tang. -- Pediatric night crying: combine with Ganmai Dazao Tang.

1. If there is no constipation, rhubarb may be omitted. 2. It is unsuitable for those with a deficiency-pattern constitution; alternatively, use Yi Gan San. Lead elixir is not stocked in pharmacies, so it is mostly no longer used. Patients for this formula often have a sensitive constitution; symptoms tend to recur and emotions tend to fluctuate, so appropriate psychological counseling must be provided during treatment.