Ke Xue Fang咳血方
Coughing of Blood Formula
Ingredients5 herbs
Indications
Liver fire scorching the Lung. Fire from the Liver rises against the Lung, dries its fluids into thick phlegm and injures its collaterals, so the sputum is sticky and blood-flecked.
Clinical Manifestations
- Blood-streaked sputum from Liver fire
- Thick sticky sputum that is hard to expectorate
- Dry cough with chest and flank discomfort
- Irritability and a bitter taste with cough
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Bleeding more than streaking — add Bai Mao Gen 白茅根 and Xian He Cao 仙鹤草
- Marked Lung yin deficiency with a dry cough — add Mai Men Dong 麦门冬 and Bei Sha Shen 北沙参
- Liver fire severe with headache and red eyes — add Huang Qin 黄芩 or Long Dan Cao 龙胆草
- Tidal fever and night sweats — add Di Gu Pi 地骨皮 and Qing Hao 青蒿
Contraindications
Not for cough with copious clear or white phlegm from cold or Spleen deficiency, and not for coughing of blood from Lung qi deficiency or from deficiency-cold. The cold bitter herbs will injure a weak digestion. Coughing of blood must be investigated medically — it can indicate tuberculosis, bronchiectasis or malignancy — and the formula is not a substitute for that assessment.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Used with caution in pregnancy and only on a practitioner's direction. The formula is markedly cold and bitter, which is hard on a pregnant patient's digestion, and Qing Dai is not a herb to give lightly in pregnancy. Coughing of blood at any stage of pregnancy needs medical assessment first. There is no specific interaction with anticoagulant medication here, but any patient who is bleeding while on such a drug should be reviewed by the prescriber.
References
Source Dan Xi Xin Fa 《丹溪心法》 · Yuan
- Classical source (public domain) — 《丹溪心法》, Yuan dynasty, attributed to Zhu Zhen-heng.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked; 海浮石 as the usual substitute for the original 海粉.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— 理血剂 · 止血, pattern and 配伍 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.