Effective methods to eliminate dampness with four traditional Chinese herbs,
clearing dampness from top to bottom, inside and out!
As the saying goes, “A thousand cold ailments are easy to remove, but dampness is hard to eliminate.” Dampness is one of the six pernicious influences (liuyin) and excessive dampness can cause significant harm to the body, easily leading to complications with other diseases. The removal of dampness requires a long-term process, and gradual conditioning is necessary for effective results. So how can we effectively eliminate dampness? Today, I will recommend several traditional Chinese herbs for this purpose.
Tu Fu Ling (Smilax glabra)
【Properties】This herb appears as irregular slices. The outer skin is yellow-brown or purple-brown, with remnants of spiny root bases or fine roots. The cross-section is brownish-yellow or reddish-brown, with visible dot-like vascular bundles. It is hard, and when broken, dust flies. The aroma is faint, with a slightly bitter and astringent taste.
【Taste and Channels】Sweet, slightly bitter, astringent, neutral. Enters the Liver and Kidney channels.
【Functions and Indications】Promotes urination and removes turbidity, dispels wind and alleviates pain, detoxifies and disperses blood stasis. Used for cloudy urination, excessive leukorrhea, wind-damp pain, and carbuncles.
Tu Fu Ling and Fu Ling (Poria cocos) are two different medicinal materials. Although they differ by just one character, their effects are similar, but Tu Fu Ling’s ability to eliminate dampness is even more profound, making it a true expert in dampness removal.
Bai Zhu (Atractylodes macrocephala)
【Properties】This herb is an irregular, thick lump. The surface is gray-yellow or gray-brown, with tumor-like protrusions and intermittent longitudinal wrinkles and grooves, with remnants of stem bases and bud scars at the top. It is hard and not easily broken, with an uneven cross-section, yellow-white to light brown, with brownish-yellow dot-like oil chambers scattered. The aroma is fragrant, with a sweet and slightly spicy taste, and a slightly sticky texture when chewed.
【Taste and Channels】Bitter, sweet, warm. Enters the Spleen and Stomach channels.
【Functions and Indications】Strengthens the Spleen and benefits Qi, dries dampness and promotes urination, stops sweating, and stabilizes the fetus.
Yi Yi Ren (Coix lacryma-jobi)
【Properties】This herb is broad-oval or elongated oval in shape. The surface is milky white, with one end bluntly rounded and the other end wider and slightly concave, with a light brown dot-like hilum; the ventral side has a wider and deeper longitudinal groove. It is solid, with a white cross-section and a powdery texture. The aroma is faint, with a slightly sweet taste.
【Taste and Channels】Sweet, bland, cool. Enters the Spleen, Stomach, and Lung channels.
【Functions and Indications】Promotes urination and drains dampness, strengthens the Spleen and stops diarrhea, alleviates pain, expels pus, detoxifies and disperses masses.
Qian Shi (Euryale fox-tail seed)
【Properties】This herb is spherical in shape, with a brown-red or reddish-brown seed coat on the surface, one end yellow-white with a concave hilum. It is relatively hard, with a white cross-section and a powdery texture. The aroma is faint, with a bland taste.
【Taste and Channels】Sweet, astringent, neutral. Enters the Spleen and Kidney channels.
【Functions and Indications】Benefits the Kidneys and secures essence, tonifies the Spleen and stops diarrhea, eliminates dampness and stops leukorrhea.
Recommended is a Spleen-strengthening and dampness-eliminating formula—Si Shen Tang (Four God Soup)
Ingredients: Yi Yi Ren: 30g, Qian Shi: 30g, Fu Ling: 20g, Huai Shan (Chinese yam): 20g, Lian Zi (lotus seed): 20g
Overall Effects: Eliminates dampness and clears heat, strengthens the Spleen and nourishes the Stomach, whitens the skin, benefits the Heart and Lungs, and regulates the Liver and secures the Kidneys. Si Shen Tang not only contains Fu Ling to transform dampness but also Yi Yi Ren to clear heat; Yi Yi Ren can also transform dampness into body fluids, along with Huai Shan and Lian Zi to tonify deficiency and calm the water, achieving a tranquilizing effect, preventing dampness from causing harm, thus overall conditioning the body for health.
Recommended is a heat-clearing and dampness-eliminating herbal formula—Liang Xue Jie Du Granules
【Product Name】Liang Xue Jie Du Granules
【Ingredients】Huang Bai (Phellodendron), Huang Qin (Scutellaria), Zhi Zi (Gardenia), Shi Gao (Gypsum, raw), Da Huang (Rhubarb), Jin Yin Hua (Honeysuckle), Zi Cao (Lithospermum), Mu Dan Pi (Paeonia), Di Huang (Rehmannia), Bai Mao Gen (Imperata), Yin Chen (Artemisia), Tu Fu Ling, Long Gu (Dragon Bone), Mu Li (Oyster Shell), Gan Cao (Licorice).
【Properties】This product is yellow-brown to brown granules; it has a fragrant aroma and a sweet, slightly bitter taste.
【Functions and Indications】Clears heat and eliminates dampness, cools the blood and detoxifies, resolves stasis and disperses masses. Suitable for acne caused by damp-heat toxin stasis.
【Specifications】10g per bag.
【Dosage】Dissolve in boiling water, 2 bags at a time, twice a day.
【Storage】Seal and store in a cool, dry place (not exceeding 20°C).
【Packaging】Medicinal composite film, 10g/bag x 12 bags/box.
【Shelf Life】36 months
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