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Cura x Cura

Bei Mu Gua Lou San贝母瓜蒌散

Fritillaria & Trichosanthes Powder (Fritillaria & Trichosanthes Fruit Formula)

Treating Dryness 治燥剂润燥化痰

Ingredients6 herbs

Indications

Moistens the Lung and clears heatTransforms dry phlegm, stops coughRegulates qi so the phlegm can be expelled

Dry phlegm in the Lung: dryness and heat have consumed Lung fluids, and the little phlegm that forms becomes thick and adherent. The strategy inverts the usual phlegm approach — moisten and clear, never dry.

Clinical Manifestations

  • Dry cough with scanty sticky sputum that is hard to bring up
  • Dry scratchy throat, hoarseness
  • Cough lingering after a febrile illness
  • Autumn-dryness cough, or cough in heated dry rooms
  • Dry mouth and nose with chest discomfort from coughing
TongueRed with a dry white or scanty coating
PulseThin and rapid

Health Categories

Respiratory Health

Modern Applications

Dry coughPost-infectious coughPharyngitisBronchitisHoarseness

Common adjustments

  • Marked fluid damage, thirst — add Mai Men Dong, Sha Shen
  • Sore, swollen or hoarse throat — add Xuan Shen 玄参, Niu Bang Zi 牛蒡子
  • Persistent Lung heat — add Sang Bai Pi 桑白皮, Huang Qin 黄芩
  • Blood-streaked sputum — add cooling stanching herbs such as Bai Mao Gen 白茅根, Ou Jie 藕节, and reassess the diagnosis

Contraindications

Not for damp-phlegm or cold-phlegm cough with copious watery white sputum — moistening herbs make that picture heavier. Its sweet, moistening character can dull the appetite in Spleen-deficient patients with loose stools, and a cough with fever or blood needs assessment before any formula is chosen.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.

Pregnancy

Avoid during pregnancy unless a practitioner decides otherwise — Tian Hua Fen and Gua Lou are both traditionally restricted in pregnancy.

References

Source Yi Xue Xin Wu 《医学心悟》 · Qing dynasty

「燥痰涩而难出，多生于肺，肺燥则润之。」
— 《医学心悟》(classical source, public domain)
  1. Classical source (public domain), cited in the source-quote section.
    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.