Jiao Ai Tang胶艾汤
Ass-Hide Gelatin and Mugwort Decoction
Ingredients7 herbs
Indications
Deficiency of the Chong and Ren vessels with blood deficiency and cold. The vessels that hold the menses and the pregnancy have lost their tone, so blood escapes and the lower abdomen aches with a cold, dragging quality.
Clinical Manifestations
- Uterine bleeding between periods that will not stop
- Excessively heavy or prolonged menstrual flow
- Continued bleeding after miscarriage or childbirth
- Bleeding in pregnancy with abdominal ache
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Marked cold with cold limbs — add Pao Jiang 炮姜
- Qi deficiency with a bearing-down feeling — add Huang Qi 黄芪 and Dang Shen 党参
- Threatened miscarriage with lower back ache — add Xu Duan 续断 and Sang Ji Sheng 桑寄生
Contraindications
Not for bleeding driven by heat in the blood or by blood stasis — the warm, rich, astringing action would hold the pathogen in. Bleeding in pregnancy always needs urgent medical assessment first.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
This is one of the classical formulas used during pregnancy — Zhang Zhong-jing wrote it for bleeding with abdominal pain in pregnancy. It is nevertheless prescribed only by a practitioner, and any bleeding in pregnancy must be assessed medically without delay.
Related Formulas
References
Source Jin Gui Yao Lue 《金匮要略》 · Eastern Han
「妇人有漏下者，有半产后因续下血都不绝者，有妊娠下血者。假令妊娠腹中痛，为胞阻，胶艾汤主之。」
- 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.