Bai He Gu Jin Tang百合固金汤
Lily Bulb Decoction to Preserve the Metal (Lily Combination)
Ingredients10 herbs
Indications
Lung and Kidney yin deficiency with deficiency-fire scorching the Lung: the fluids that should moisten the airway are gone, so the cough is dry and hot rather than productive, and the throat stays raw. Enriching the Kidney below is as much part of the treatment as moistening the Lung above.
Clinical Manifestations
- Dry cough with scanty, thick, hard-to-raise sputum
- Blood streaking in the sputum
- Dry, sore throat and hoarseness
- Afternoon tidal heat and night sweats
- Long-standing dry cough in a yin-deficient patient
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Blood in the sputum — add Bai Mao Gen 白茅根 and Ce Bai Ye 侧柏叶
- Marked tidal heat and night sweats — add Di Gu Pi 地骨皮 and Zhi Mu 知母
- Cough hard and unrelenting — add Kuan Dong Hua 款冬花 and Zi Wan 紫菀
- Appetite drops or stools loosen on the rich herbs — add Chen Pi 陈皮 and reduce Shu Di Huang 熟地黄
Contraindications
Not for a wet cough of phlegm-damp, nor for an acute cough from an external invasion — the rich moistening herbs trap the pathogen and thicken the phlegm. Cloying for a weak Spleen: watch appetite and stools, and adjust rather than persist.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Generally compatible in pregnancy under practitioner supervision — there is no purgative or strongly blood-moving herb here, but the rich ingredients can burden digestion and the pattern should be confirmed first.
Related Formulas
References
Source Shen Zhai Yi Shu 《慎斋遗书》 · Ming dynasty
- Classical source (public domain) — composition per the standard textbook record.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— pattern analysis cross-checked.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.