Zhi Sou San He Xiao Chai Hu Tang Jia Jian

This is a research formula from the People’s Republic of China created by Yuan Xin-shun of the Xin Xiang Municipal Cement Factory Workers Hospital in Henan. It is a combination of Zhi Sou San (Stop Coughing Powder) and Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) with additions and subtractions. Our version is a 9:1 extract in a glycerine base.

RX:

Chai Hu (Radix Bupleuri)
Zi Wan (Radix Asteris)
Bai Qian (Rhizoma Cynanchi Stautonii)
Bai Bu (Radix Stemonae)
Dang Shen (Radix Codonopsitis)
Jie Geng (Radix Platycodi)
Sang Bai Pi (Cortex Mori)
Fu Ling (Poria)
Da Zao (Fructus Jujubae)
Ban Xia (Rhizoma Pinelliae)
Chen Pi (Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae)
Huang Qin (Radix Scutellariae)
Zi Su Ye (Folium Perillae)
Sheng Jiang (uncooked Rhizoma Zingiberis)
Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae)

FUNCTIONS:

Clears heat and transforms phlegm, stops cough and levels panting, fortifies the spleen.

INDICATIONS:

This formula is for the treatment of cough and panting and wheezing in children manifesting as phlegm heat with commonly an underlying spleen vacuity.

THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF PHLEGM HEAT INCLUDE:

• Coughing and panting

• Thick, yellow phlegm

• A slippery, rapid pulse

THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SPLEEN VACUITY INCLUDE:

• Recurrent or easy catching of cold

• A history of antibiotic use

• A craving for sweets

• Fatigue

• Possible poor appetite

• A tendency to loose stools

• A fat tongue with teeth-marks on its edges

• A blue vein between the eyebrows at the so-called root of the nose

FORMULA EXPLANATION:

In Chinese medicine, it is a given that the spleen qi is vacuous and weak in children and, therefore, so is their defensive qi. Thus children are easily susceptible to the external contraction of wind evils. Because the lungs are the florid canopy, such contraction of external wind most commonly manifests as a respiratory infection. In addition, because “the spleen is the root of phlegm engenderment, and the lungs are [merely] the place where phlegm is stored,” children with respiratory infections tend to have a lot of phlegm. And finally, because children have a “pure yang constitution,” any depression (whether externally contracted or internally engendered) tends to transform heat. Hence, in clinical practice, the most common pattern of pediatric cough (including croup) and asthma is one of phlegm heat with an underlying spleen qi vacuity. This tendency to spleen qi vacuity is aggravated by either the use of antibiotics or overeating sweets ñ two very common occurrences in contemporary Western children.

Within this formula, Zi Wan, Bai Qian, Bai Bu, Ban Xia, Sheng Jiang, and Chen Pi downbear counterflow, transform phlegm, and stop cough. Zi Wan, Ban Xia, and Bai Qian are an important combination for coughing and wheezing associated with profuse, difficult to expectorate phlegm. Jie Geng loosens the chest, diffuses the lungs, and transforms phlegm. It also acts to guide the other medicinals to the lungs and chest. Gan Cao and Jie Geng together are able to clear and disinhibit the throat. Zi Su Ye and Sang Bai Pi clear the lungs, stop coughing, and level panting. Fu Ling aids Ban Xia, Chen Pi, and Sheng Jiang eliminate dampness and transform phlegm. Huang Qin clears the lungs, while Dang Shen and Da Zao fortify the spleen and support the righteous. Chai Hu rectifies the qi and disinhibits the qi mechanism of all three burners.

DOSING: 2 droppers full

MY PATIENT DOES HAVE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF:

Phlegm heat Q Yes Q No
Spleen vacuity Q Yes Q No