Aidus & E-Fong Herbal Solution
Herbal Formula for Clearing Heat
                                
                                              Chapter 5

          Herbal Formula  for Clearing Heat

Herbal formulae for clearing heat are mainly composed of clearing heat herbs which have effects of clearing away heat
and purging fire, clearing the nutrient phase and cooling blood, clearing away heat and poison, and clearing away
deficient heat. They are all used to treat the interior heat syndromes and pertain to clearing therapy of the eight therapies.
The causes of interior heat syndromes are complicate. In brief, there are two large aspects, i. e., exogenous attack and
internal injury. When the exogenous six climatic evils enter the interior, they all can transform into heat. The internal
injury of seven emotions, or excessiveness of five emotions, partially exuberance of visceral qi ,all can lead to
excessiveness of heat. According to the different degrees, they can be divided into warm, heat and fire. Warm is less
than heat which is less than fire in degree. However, they are the same thing with different names.
Besides, the summer-heat also belongs to the warm category, so the formulae for clearing away summer-heat is
included in the chapter.
The scope of interior heat syndromes is very extensive. It includes the qi, nutrient and blood phases in exogenous warm
diseases, heat-poison and sores in surgery, heat syndromes of viscera in internal medicine, and interior heat due to yin
deficiency in the later stage of warm diseases or over strain, etc.
Depending upon the principles that" heat syndromes should be treated with cooling therapy" and "warm syndromes
should be treated with clearing therapy" , the interior heat syndromes should be treated with heat-clearing therapy.
Because there are the differences among causes disease, locations and disease conditions, the heat-clearing formulae
are correspondingly divided into six categories, i. e., formulae for clearing away heat from the qi stage, formulae for
clearing the nutrient stage and cooling blood, formulae for clearing away heat and poison, formulae for clearing away
visceral heat, formulae for clearing away summer-heat and formulae for clearing away deficient heat. The other formulae
for clearing away heat to open orifice, clearing away heat to quench wind, clearing away heat to relieve the exterior, and
purging heat to relieve constipation, are discussed in chapter ten, one, and two respectively.
It is suitable to apply the formulae to the condition that the exterior syndrome has already relieved but fever is still there
or there is exuberant interior heat without coagulated excessive evils. Applying heat-clearing formulae in clinic,
the first thing is to differentiate the deficiency or excessiveness of heat syndromes. The excessive heat should be treated
with bitter cold herbs directly, while the deficient heat should be nourished with sweet-cold herbs. If the heat is not
relieved yet with repeated application of clearing heat or  purging fire herbs, it is due to the consumption of yin. In such
conditions, the therapy should be changed at once to nourish yin for strengthening water. Secondarily, it is necessary to
differentiate the true or false conditions of heat syndromes. For the heat syndrome with cold pseudo symptoms, the
clearing heat formulae are suitable; but for the cold syndrome with pseudo-heat symptoms, the heat-clearing formulae
cannot be used.
The warming interior and restoring Yang formulae should be used instead. Besides, there is another type of exuberant
heat evil, to which when the heat-clearing formulae are applied, vomiting happens immediately after taking the
decoction. At this time, small amount of fresh ginger juice should be added to the heat-clearing formulae, or the cooling
decoction should be taken hot. This is the contrary adjuvant therapy called" using herbs of hot nature to treat heat
syndromes" .
Heat pertains to yang evils and the exuberant heat can injure yin, so, to preserve yin and body fluid is the important
principle for treating heat syndromes. However, the yin-nourishing herbs have the shortcoming of keeping evil qi if being
used too early. In addition, herbs with cool and cold natures can injure yang and the stomach qi, so the functions of the
spleen and stomach should be protected at any time during the treatment.