INDIVIDUAL HERBS
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Pheretima Lumbricus |
| Common English: | Earthworm Lumbricus |
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
Salty |
Cold |
Bladder Liver Lung Spleen (Stomach) (Kidney) |
4-15g |
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Drains Heat, settles convulsions, extinguishes Wind and stops spasms |
Extreme Heat generating Wind with loss of consciousness, incoherent speech, convulsions and seizures It can be used alone It has recently been used to treat schizophrenia of the hot-manic type |
Clears Heat and unblocks and promotes movement in the channels and collaterals |
Hot or Cold Bi (with appropriate herbs) with swollen, painful joints and a reduced range of motion Hemiplegia due to lack of flow in the channels such as the sequelae of Wind-Stroke |
Clears Heat and calms wheezing |
Wheezing due to Lung Heat (can be taken alone as a powder, in capsules or decocted with sugar as a syrup) |
Clears Heat and promotes urination |
Hot, painful urinary dysfunction, edema (severe cases), ascites and jaundice Especially useful for Heat clumping in the Bladder with urinary difficulty or inability to urinate (can be used alone) |
Anchors Liver Yang and lowers Blood pressure |
Hypertension due to Liver Yang Rising |
Promotes healing topically |
Acute parotitis, chronic ulcers of the lower limbs, burns, boils or carbuncles (powder, mix with sugar and apply topically) |
CONTRAINDICATIONS |
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INCOMPATIBILITIES |
HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
Ram. cum Uncis Uncariae |
Rx. Stephaniae Tetrandrae |
Rx. Aconiti Preparata |
Infantile and adult convulsions and seizures associated with high fevers. |
Heat Bi Syndrome. |
Cold Bi. |
Rx. Aconiti Preparata |
Ram. Mori |
Rx. Astragali |
Wind-Damp Bi. |
Red, swollen, painful joints associated with Heat Bi. |
Hemiplegia or hemiparesis following Wind-Stroke. |
Endoconcha Sepiae |
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Hemiplegia. |
Wheezing and coughing due to Lung Heat. |
Powder to take with other decoctions to treat coughing and wheezing. |
Rx. Achyranthis Bidentatae |
Sm. Plantaginis |
|
Hot, painful urinary dysfunction with stones or edema. |
Lin Syndrome with hesitant, painful urination. |
Trauma induced pain of the lower back and legs. |
Rx. Scutellariae or Rz. Gastrodiae |
Cinnabaris |
|
Hypertension. |
Hypertension associated with Liver Yang Rising. |
Convulsions. (grind into a powder and serve as pills) |
Ram. cum Uncis Uncariae |
Gypsum Fibrosum |
Extremitas Rx. Angelicae Sinensis |
Seizures, twitching, spasms or meningitis with unremitting fever. Unconsciousness. |
Lung Heat with dyspnea and coughing. |
Bone fractures with swelling and pain |
Hb. Lysimachiae |
Fr. Chaenomelis |
|
Urinary stones. |
Edema of the lower extremities. |
|
- This herb can be used alone to stop spasms.
- This herb treats spasms and convulsions due to Heat due to its ability to open and penetrate and is effective for wheezing and Bi pain.
- It can be used for whooping cough or bronchial spasms with Phlegm.
- This herb treats abdominal masses.
- It inhibits the growth of cancer cells.
- It has been shown to treat Colon and Liver cancers.
- It treats swelling and nasal polyps.
- It treats high fever due to External Wind Invasion.
- Some sources say that this herb calms the Shen, stabilizes fright and suppresses astonishment.
- Fresh Pheretima Xian Di Long is ground with sugar and applied topically to treat burns, chronic ulcerations of the lower limb or mumps.
- Fresh Pheretima Xian Di Long is ground with sugar and water is used to treat schizophrenia or mania with high fever.
- Both Di Long and Arisaema cum Bile Dan Nan Xing settle jitteriness and convulsion, treat restlessness and convulsions due to high fever, cough and wheezing due to Fire and Heat in the Lungs and impaired limb movement as a sequela of Wind-Stroke or hemiplegia. Di Long more strongly clears Heat and calms the Liver, is used to treat asthma and dyspnea of bronchiolitis and tends to unblock the collaterals. It mainly treats paralysis. Dan Nan Xing more strongly expels Wind, transforms Phlegm , settles convulsions and is more frequently used for spasmodic cough and wheezing due to hot Phlegm blocking the Lungs as in childhood pneumonia or acute bronchitis. It also tends to expel Wind and transform Phlegm and is used for Phlegm-Heat causing loss of consciousness in Wind-Stroke.
- Wine-fried Earthworm Jiu Chao Di Long is more easily pulverized.