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One of the Ten Famous Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescriptions: The Secret of Wuling Powder

Writer's picture: Hongji MedicalHongji Medical

Origin and formula analysis


Wuling San, a famous Chinese medicine prescription for treating water retention, has a profound historical origin.


It originated from Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases written by Zhang Zhongjing of the Eastern Han Dynasty. At that time, people often suffered from various diseases due to various factors such as external pathogenic factors, internal injuries and diet, which led to disordered water metabolism. Zhang Zhongjing carefully created Wuling Powder based on his profound insight into the meridians, internal organs and the laws of water circulation in the human body.


Wuling Powder
五苓散

This recipe can effectively regulate the distribution and excretion of fluids in the human body, just like a capable minister who controls water, so that the fluids return to their proper places and restore the normal circulation order. Each herb in the recipe has a unique mission:


  • Poria cocos : Praised as a "holy medicine for removing dampness" in the Compendium of Materia Medica, it has a light penetrating effect and can slowly guide excess moisture in the body to the bladder and excrete it out of the body through urination, making great contributions to removing moisture.

  • Poria : It has a special property of promoting water permeation. Its diuretic effect is quite strong and can accelerate the excretion process of fluids, just like a pioneer in dredging a river, allowing water to flow smoothly.

  • Zexie : It is good at promoting water, moisture and purging heat. While removing water and moisture, it can also clear away heat evil in the body, just like clearing impurities and silt in the water when cleaning a river, making the water flow clearer.




  • Atractylodes macrocephala : It strengthens the spleen and transports water. It is like a guard reinforcing the dam. By strengthening the spleen and stomach functions, it enhances the ability to transport and control water and moisture, preventing water and moisture from flooding again and causing disasters.

  • Cinnamon Twig : Like warm sunlight, it warms and circulates Yang Qi, transforms Qi and promotes the flow of water, giving water the power and vitality to flow, allowing the water to circulate smoothly in the body, just like providing a natural driving force for the flow of water.


These five herbs work together to form a perfect water control team.


Traditional Chinese Medicine Wulingsan's efficacy and applicable diseases


The main effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Wuling Powder is to "promote diuresis and eliminate dampness, warm the yang and transform the qi".


It mainly targets a series of symptoms caused by abnormal water metabolism in the human body. For example, common symptoms include urinary dysfunction, where patients feel difficulty urinating and have less urine, as if the excretion channel of water in the body is blocked; edema, where swelling occurs locally or throughout the body, which is caused by water and moisture stagnating between skin tissues; phlegm, which is manifested by coughing and expectoration, and the phlegm is clear and large in volume, which is caused by water and moisture condensing into phlegm in the body; diarrhea, where loose stools are frequent, which is caused by the inability of water and moisture to be normally transported and transformed in the intestines.


Effects of Wuling Powder
五苓散的功效

In addition, Wuling San can also play a good regulating role for some symptoms such as dizziness and vomiting caused by water retention.


When the human body is attacked by external cold and dampness, or due to improper diet, overeating raw, cold, greasy food, the spleen and stomach are damaged, resulting in the spleen's dysfunction and internal water and dampness, which can easily lead to the above symptoms. Water and dampness accumulate in the body, blocking the Qi flow, affecting the bladder's gasification function, and then leading to urinary problems; water and dampness overflow the skin, causing edema; going up to the lungs, causing phlegm and cough; flowing down to the intestines, causing diarrhea.


Wuling Powder is like a key to control water. It can turn on the normal switch of the body's water metabolism, allowing water and moisture to return to their proper places and restore the body's balance and health.



Specifically, Wuling Powder is suitable for the following conditions: water retention after drinking cold water in the summer, manifested as abdominal distension, diarrhea, and oliguria; edema and proteinuria in the course of diseases such as chronic nephritis and nephrotic syndrome, accompanied by urinary problems; and water metabolism disorders caused by some endocrine disorders, such as premenstrual edema in women. The commonality of these diseases is that there is a disorder in water metabolism, and Wuling Powder can regulate and improve them in a targeted manner.


Notes


When using Wuling Powder, there are many things to note. First, people with yin deficiency and lack of body fluid should use Wuling Powder with caution. Because of its strong diuretic effect, it may further deplete the already insufficient yin fluid in the body, leading to aggravation of yin deficiency symptoms, such as dry mouth and throat, and five-heart heat. If the patient has fever, thirst but does not drink much water, and has red and astringent urine, which are symptoms of heat and body fluid damage, Wuling Powder should not be used to avoid helping fire and damaging yin.


Furthermore, spicy, greasy and overly salty foods should be avoided during the period of taking the medicine. Spicy foods are easy to generate heat and fire, greasy foods will increase the burden on the spleen and stomach and affect the spleen and stomach's function of transportation and transformation, and overly salty foods may cause sodium retention. These are not conducive to the effect of Wuling San and may even aggravate the condition.

Wuling Powder
五苓散

In addition, if you experience any discomfort during the course of taking the medicine, such as nausea, vomiting, worsening abdominal pain, etc., you should stop taking the medicine immediately and seek medical attention immediately. At the same time, for special groups such as pregnant women, children, the elderly, and those with serious underlying diseases, Wuling San should be used with caution and should be used under the strict supervision of a doctor.


Complementary Therapy


When using Wulingsan, some auxiliary therapies can enhance its efficacy. In terms of diet, you can eat some foods that have the effect of promoting water and moisture, such as coix seed and winter melon . Coix seed can be cooked into porridge, and winter melon can be boiled into soup or stir-fried. They can help Wulingsan further eliminate moisture in the body.


  1. Job's tears porridge

    • Ingredients : 50 grams of coix seed, 100 grams of rice.

    • Method : Wash coix seeds and rice separately, put them into a pot, add appropriate amount of water and cook into porridge.

    • Efficacy : Job's tears has the effect of promoting water and moisture, and is suitable for people with internal water retention. Job's tears porridge can help remove moisture from the body and promote digestion.

  2. Winter melon soup

    • Ingredients : 200 grams of winter melon, 100 grams of lean meat.

    • Preparation : Peel and cut the winter melon into pieces, slice the lean meat, put them into a pot, add appropriate amount of water, and cook into soup.

    • Efficacy : Winter melon has the effect of clearing away heat and promoting diuresis, and is suitable for people with edema and difficulty urinating. Winter melon soup can help remove excess water from the body and promote urination.

  3. Red Bean and Barley Soup

    • Ingredients : 50 grams of red beans, 50 grams of coix seeds.

    • Method : Wash red beans and coix seeds separately, put them into a pot, add appropriate amount of water and cook into soup.

    • Efficacy : Both red beans and coix seeds have the effect of promoting water and moisture, and are suitable for people with internal water retention. Red bean and coix seed soup can help remove moisture from the body and promote digestion.



In terms of exercise, moderate aerobic exercise such as walking and jogging can help promote blood circulation, enhance the body's metabolic function, and help water circulate and excrete better in the body. However, it is important to note that the intensity of exercise should not be too high to avoid overwork and increase the burden on the body.


Acupoint massage can also be used as an auxiliary means. You can focus on massaging acupoints such as Zusanli and Sanyinjiao. Zusanli is the He point of the stomach meridian. Massaging it can strengthen the spleen and stomach and enhance the spleen and stomach's ability to transport and transform water and moisture; Sanyinjiao is the intersection point of the liver, spleen, and kidney meridians. Stimulating this point helps regulate the body's water metabolism balance. Use your fingers to gently press the acupoints every day for 3-5 minutes each time, until you feel soreness and swelling in the area.


Conclusion


In short, Wuling Powder is a classic Chinese medicine prescription for treating abnormal fluid metabolism, carrying thousands of years of medical wisdom. It is like a master of water control, skillfully resolving the body's fluid problems. We should use this prescription correctly, follow the doctor's instructions, avoid taboos, and let the ancient Chinese medicine wisdom continue to shine in the modern health field, protect our bodies, and enjoy a healthy and harmonious life.


Modern people suffer from long-term spleen deficiency. After catching cold, "Tai Yang disease" and "Shao Yin disease" combine to form "water and cold", which causes obstruction of water transportation in the body and leads to various symptoms, such as thirst and dry mouth, gastrointestinal bloating, diarrhea, indigestion, cough, palpitations, frequent urination or anuria, or a feeling of residual urine...etc.


This syndrome often occurs in people with "cold yang deficiency constitution". It can be said that this Chinese medicine prescription is a must-use and must-learn for lifelong health preservation. If you are good at using it, it can not only enhance immunity, but also prevent various diseases.


Ancient Chinese medical books state that Wuling San is a "preventive prescription" of ancient imperial physicians that is specifically used to prevent plague. This prescription has also been used to treat various strange diseases in ancient and modern times, and it is worthy of in-depth study by modern people.

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