小陷胸汤

Name Minor Decoction for Relieving Stuffiness in the Channels

Source

The book Shang Han Lun

Ingredients

• Huang Lian (Rhizoma Coptidis) 6 g,
• Ban Xia (Rhizoma Pinelliae) 12 g,
• Gua Lou (Fructus Trichosanthis) 30 g.

Explanation

Gua Lou: The principal drug, clearing away heat, resolving phlegm, relieving stuffiness in the chest, dispersing stagnancy.

Huang Lian: Clearing away heat and purging fire.

Ban Xia: Checking upward adverse flow of Qi, regulating the stomach, resolving phlegm.

Effect

Clearing away heat, resolving phlegm, relieving stuffiness in the chest, dispersing stagnancy.

Indications

Syndrome due to combination of phlegm and heat, marked by fullness and tenderness in the chest and epigastric region, or cough with yellowish thick sputum, yellowish greasy tongue coating, and slippery rapid or floating rapid pulse; including such diseases with the above symptoms as pleuritis, intercostal neuralgia, bronchitis, pneumonia, acute and chronic gastritis and cholecystitis.

Administration

Decocted in water for oral dose to be taken twice.