Nature: acrid, slightly warm

Enters: Lung, Liver

Actions: Releases the exterior by eliminating wind; stops bleeding (charred); promotes expression of rashes, alleviates itching.

Indications:
• Wind-cold or wind-heat: headache, fever, aversion to cold, lack of sweats (combine appropriately for heat or cold).
• Wind: itching, urticaria, slow skin eruption in measles.
• Has a superficial effect (to skin level).
• Carbuncles and boils when they first erupt, especially when accompanied by chills and fever.
• Liu: special for skin problems, the upper body, sore throat, headache, aversion to cold.
• Diaphoretic, increases subcutaneous circulation.
• Bensky/Gamble: can be used whether the disorder is hot or cold.
• Short cook.
Li: [contrary to Liu] this is a warm herb – caution with sore throat, can worsen it (Li removes Jing jie from Yin Qiao San when there is a sore throat). [My limited clinical experience seems to corroborate this idea. -PLB]
• With Fang feng – vital for opening the chest for persistent lung obstruction.
MLT: Antispasmodic, useful for rheumatism, facial paralysis, stroke symptoms, stiff neck and spine.

Dose: 3-9g
Jie Dui Tan: charred form
• Stops bleeding, promotes blood circulation, dispels blood stasis.
• For bleeding, helps the liver store blood and the spleen hold blood.
• Epistaxis, hemafecia, uterine bleeding.