Nature: bitter, slightly cold
Enters: Bladder
Actions: Stops itching; clears damp-heat; promotes urination; unblocks painful urinary dysfunction; kills parasites.
Indications:
• Damp-heat in the lower Jiao: painful urination.
• Damp-heat: skin disorders with itching, including tinea.
• Intestinal parasites: tapeworm, hookworm, pinworm.
• Douche for trichomonas.
• Topical: wash for surface parasites.
• Also for bacillary dysentery.
• Increases the tension of the uterus – used to stop postpartum uterine hemorrhage.
• In cases of damp-heat induced painful urinary dysfunction, this herb is most appropriate when dampness and heat are equally severe.
MLT: Common weed around the world, used widely for urinary tract inflammation.
TS: The gravel remedy. Its chief influence is on the bladder and it has been known to remove stones from the bladder when all other treatment had failed. It will prevent the formation of gravel when there is a tendency, and it frequently dissolves stones already formed. It is desirable to combine it with Equisetum.
Hsu: Antibacterial, hypotensive, anthelmintic.
Dose: 9-15g