Release the Exterior - General Herbal Formula Category Concepts
Release the Exterior Functional Grouping
In TCM terminology the "exterior" refers to the first level of impact a disease has on the body. This area is protected by the "wei qi" or "defensive qi". An example of the distinction in disease is the difference between a mild cold and a cold going quickly to bronchitis. In one case the condition was left on the exterior and resolved by the immune system, in the other it was allowed to go much deeper internally and cause more significant health issues. From a treatment perspective disease is always most efficiently treated at the earliest possible stage. Appropriate treatment for acute symptoms, then, will lead to good results. As the condition is allowed to linger and deepen you must choose between release it via the exterior or treating the internal imbalance. This is an important distinction as releasing the exterior with an internal deficiency can lead to further health issues, possibly even deepening the condition. The majority of these formulas are best used for relatively acute symptoms and will encourage to varying degrees the person to release the pathogens via sweat.
The Release the Exterior Category Has The Following Subcategories:
- Release Early Stage Exterior Disorders
- Release Exterior Cold
- Release Exterior Disorders with Head and Neck Symptoms
- Release Exterior Disorders with Interior Deficiency
- Release Exterior Wind Heat
- Release Exterior-Interior Excess
The Release the Exterior Category Contains (11) TCM formulas In Our Database
Chai Hu Gui Zhi Tang Wan
Bupleurum and Cinnamon Twig Decoction
Usages
- A combination of gui zhi tang and xiao chai hu tang - together they work with both taiyang and shaoyang syndromes - common colds and flu, fever, chills, joint pain, nausea, abdominal/epigastric distention. Neuralgias from wind invasions - trigeminal neuralgia, frozen shoulder, etc.
- With the right underlying factors also useful for a range of middle jiao issues such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholecystitis, gastric ulcers, pancreatitis, appendicitis.
- Epilepsy.
Fang Feng Tong Sheng Wan
Ledebouriella Pills to Sagely Unblock
Usages
- High fever with aversion to cold.
- Thick phlemg that may be both in sinus and chest.
- Vertigo or dizziness that is caused by excess heat.
- Rashes, carbuncles, and other types of skin disorders that are caused by heat.
- Constipation and scanty or dark urine.
Ge Gen Wan
Kudzu Decoction
Usages
- Wind-cold invasion with upper neck and back pain - cold or flu, mild fever, no sweating, stiffness.
Gui Zhi Tang Wan
Cinnamon Twig Decoction
Usages
- Gan Mao (wind-cold) - Common cold or flu (or related illnesses, asthma, rhinitis, etc.) presenting with fever and chills (unrelieved by sweating), headache, aversion to wind, no desire for fluids, dry cough, sore throat.
- Frostbite.
- Pain from cold - may manifest in the joints, sciatic pain, neuralgia.
- Some skin conditions that are worse with cold and tend to be dry and itchy.
- Potentially useful post-partum (for colds or fevers) to strengthen the exterior (wei qi).
Jing Fang Bai Du Wan
Schizonepeta and Siler Powder to Overcome Pathogenic Influences
Usages
- Early stages of disease arising from wind cold damp - common cold, flu, bronchitis, mumps.
- Early stages of skin diseases - boils, carbuncles, eczema, dermatitis with the right underlying factors.
- Mastitis arising from cold/damp.
Qing Bi Wan
Clear The Nose Decoction
Usages
- Sinus issues arising from damp-heat pattern in Chinese Medicine - yellow and sticky discharge, sinusitis, rhinitis acute or chronic.
- Sinus headache, decreased olfactory sense.
Xiao Qing Long Wan
Minor Blue Dragon Pills
Usages
- Cold/flu like symptoms such as aversion to cold, cough, clear watery phlegm -from exterior wind cold invasion.
- Wheezing, heavy sensation, edema due to interior water accumulation.
Xin Yi Qing Fei Wan
Magnolia Flower Drink To Clear The Lungs
Usages
- Colds and/or allergies with heat signs (yellow mucus and/or fever, etc.).
- Chronic sinus congestions / issues, chronic sinusitis, chronic rhinitis, loss of smell.
- Nasal polyps with the right underlying factors.
- Difficult to resolve sinus issues with thick, sticky mucus.
- Headaches from sinus congestion.
Xin Yi Wan
Magnolia Flower Powder
Usages
- Colds and/or allergies with cold signs (white mucus and/or no fever, etc.).
- Chronic sinus congestions / issues, chronic sinusitis, chronic rhinitis, loss of smell.
- Headaches from sinus congestion.
Yin Qiao Wan
Honeysuckle and Forsythia Formula
Usages
- Common cold or flu presenting with fever w/slight or no chills, headache, desire for fluids, cough, sore throat.
- Acute respitory infections, acute fever, tonsillitis, canker sores.