Bai Hu Jia Cang Zhu Tang白虎加苍术汤
White Tiger plus Atractylodes Decoction
Ingredients5 herbs
Indications
Damp-warmth with heat predominating: heat is the greater problem, but damp is present and would be worsened by moistening cold herbs alone. The formula clears the heat and dries the damp in one step.
Clinical Manifestations
- Damp-warmth: fever, heavy sweating, chest stuffiness, greasy coating
- Summer damp-heat with body heaviness and thirst
- Damp-heat joint pain with swelling and heat
- Fever that does not break because damp is holding it in
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Damp heavier than heat — reduce Shi Gao 石膏 and add aromatic herbs such as Huo Xiang 藿香 and Pei Lan 佩兰
- Damp-heat pouring into the joints — add Yi Yi Ren 薏苡仁 and Huang Bai 黄柏
Contraindications
Not for dry-heat patterns with a scanty peeled coating — Cang Zhu would dry an already parched fluid base. Not for exterior cold, and not for yin deficiency heat.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Practitioner supervision required in pregnancy. Very cold and drying at once — an unusual combination that a practitioner should review before it is given to a pregnant patient.
Related Formulas
References
Source Lei Zheng Huo Ren Shu 《类证活人书》 · Northern Song
- 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.