Run Zao Fa (润燥法)

Moistening dryness method, is to use moisturizing drugs to treat dryness syndrome. Dryness can be outer or inner, outer-dryness can be divided into cold dry and warm dry, while inner dry is the sign of body fluid deficiency.

1. Drain off the dryness

It is for treating cool dryness or warm dryness diseases. Cool dryness occurs in season turning into severe cold, when lungs qi shrink, qi in the whole body go into bad circulation, cough and stuffy nose, headache, dryness of the throat all emerged. The treatment is to apply warm、bitter drug with sweat、spicy drugs. Commonly used drugs such as almond, Perilla Stem, Radix Peucedani, Semen Sojae Preparatum, Fistular Onion Stalk, Radix Platycodi,etc. Representative recipe: Xing Su powder.

Warm dryness is due to long time of dry weather, mostly in autumn, when lungs are hurt. Warm dryness could hurt the lungs, headache, fever, dry cough, or reverse flowing qi, shortness of breath, dry tongue and no coating, all these dryness、body-fluid impairment diseases can be treated by drugs like: Folium Mori, almond, Radix Adenophorae, Radix Ophiopogonis, Rhizoma Polygonati Odorati, Radix Trichosanthis, Gypsum Fibrosum, Colla Corii Asini, etc. Representative are Sang Xing decoction, Qing Zao Jiu Fei decoction, Sha Seng Mai Dong decoction.

2. sweet-cold drugs for moisturing

It is used for deficiency of body fluid, or for those being exposed to outside pathological factors, showing the syndromes of yin impairment and dryness.

For dryness on top of the body, mostly in lungs, dry cough and phlegm, throat dryness, hemoptysis, asthma are common. For dryness at middle of the body, mostly in stomach, fever, disturbed, dry, parched with thirst, or the adverse flow of Qi are common. For dryness at lower part of the body, mostly in kidney, dry throat, flushed face, dysphoria or astriction are common.

One important instruction in curing is to use drugs of dry and sweet、cold and moist. Commonly used drugs are American Ginseng, Radix Scrophulariae, Radix Ophiopogonis, Bulbus Lilii, Radix Rehmanniae. Representatives are The Prescription of Qiongyu Gao, The Prescription of Baihe Gujin Tang; The Prescription of Wuzhi Yin.