Aidus & E-Fong Herbal Solution
Herbal Formula for Regulating Blood
                                            
                                          Chapter 12

           Herbal Formula  for Regulating Blood


This group of formulae is composed of herbs for regulating blood and has the effects of promoting the blood circulation
and arresting bleeding to treat blood disorders.
Blood is the fundamental substances which nourishes the human body, and it circulates in the vessels and passes through
the whole body to moistens and nourishes the all viscera and extremities. If some causative factors affect normal
circulation of blood, there will appear disorders of blood stasis, bleeding or blood deficiency. For blood deficiency,
tonifying blood therapy should be prescribed, it has been introduced in tonic formulae. Here are only introduced the
formulae for promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis and those for arresting bleeding.
Chapter 5 in the Plain Questions states: "The case of blood stasis should be treated with promoting blood circulation to
remove stasis." "Regulating qi and blood, and then keeping circulation in their own pathways". According to these basic
principles, the therapy of promoting blood circulation to remove stasis is used for treatment of syndrome of blood
stassis, and therapy of arresting bleeding for treatment of bleeding syndrome.
Blood stasis syndrome and bleeding syndrome are attributable to different disorders, however, there are inter-promoting
and inter-transforming relationships between them. If the escape of blood from the vessels accumulates within the human
body, there may form the blood stasis. Prolonged ecchymosis may obstructions and impairs the blood vessels, leading
to bleeding, thus, therapies of promo- ting blood circulation and arresting bleeding are usually used together in clinical
practice. Moreover, the one is must to differentiate what is primary from what is secondary, so as to remove blood
stasis without impairment of the genuine qi and arrest bleeding without bringing blood stasis.
Blood disorder is complicated, and one should differentiate mild and heavy, a- cute and chronic in addition to difference
of cold, heat, deficiency and excess syndromes. When treating blood disorders, it is imperative to search for causative
fac- tors and distinguish the" branch" and" root" of disease, as well as being acute and chronic, so that the" branch"
should be treated first for emergency or acute case, while the" root" should be treated for chronic or mild case or
consideration must be given to both the "branch" and the "root". Owing to "Qi is the commander of blood, blood
circulates following qi flows", this is why some herbs for regulating qi and for tonifying qi are often added to formulae for
regulating blood, so that blood stasis is removed by activating qi or bleeding is arrested by replenishing qi to command
the blood, which is selected based on syndrome differentiation in clinical practice. In addition, formulae for promoting
blood circulation to remove stasis are easy to accelerate blood circulation and injury the fetus, so in cases of
menorrhagia and pregnancy this kind of formulae should be used very carefully.