Dang Gui Liu Huang Tang当归六黄汤
Tangkuei and Six-Yellow Decoction
Ingredients7 herbs
Indications
Night sweats from yin deficiency with blazing fire. In sleep the yang enters the yin; where the yin is short and the fire is strong, the fire steams the fluids straight out through the surface. On waking the yang returns outward and the sweating stops — hence the pattern's name.
Clinical Manifestations
- Night sweats that soak the bedding, with a hot restless feeling
- Yin-deficient fever with a red face and irritability
- Dry mouth and lips with constipation and dark urine
- Menopausal night sweats with marked heat signs
- Sweating in sleep after a long febrile illness
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Sweating heavy and hard to stop — add Mu Li 牡蛎 and Fu Xiao Mai 浮小麦
- Fire mild, yin depletion dominant — reduce Huang Lian 黄连 and Huang Bai 黄柏
- Poor appetite from the bitter cold — add Sha Ren 砂仁 or reduce the yellows and shorten the course
- Steaming-bone fever alongside — add Di Gu Pi 地骨皮 and Qing Hao 青蒿
Contraindications
Only for night sweats where fire is genuinely vigorous. Not for spontaneous daytime sweating from qi deficiency, and not for night sweats of pure yin deficiency without heat signs — the three bitter cold herbs would injure the Spleen and Stomach for no gain. Not for Spleen deficiency with poor appetite or loose stools. Persistent drenching night sweats warrant medical assessment.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Use in pregnancy only under practitioner supervision — the three bitter cold yellows are hard on the middle burner and Dang Gui moves blood, so the formula is normally modified before use in pregnancy rather than given as written.
References
Source Lan Shi Mi Cang 《兰室秘藏》 · Jin
「治盗汗之圣药也。」
- 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.