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Cura x Cura

Kong Xian Dan控涎丹

Control Mucus Special Pill

Purging Downward 泻下剂Drive Out Water 逐水

Ingredients3 herbs

甘Gan Sui甘遂去心Drives out the lodged thin mucus — toxic
紫Zi Da Ji紫大戟Expels water and phlegm from the organs — toxic
白Bai Jie Zi白芥子Reaches phlegm lodged between skin and membranes and unblocks the collaterals

Indications

Expels phlegm and drives out thin mucusReaches phlegm lodged between skin and membranesRelieves wandering pain of the chest, back and limbs

Phlegm-fluid lodged between the skin and the membranes. The hallmark is pain that will not stay in one place, which distinguishes it from the fixed pain of blood stasis and from the effusion pattern of the parent formula.

Clinical Manifestations

  • Sudden unbearable pain in chest, back, neck or hip that shifts location
  • Sinew and bone pain that pulls and moves without a fixed site
  • Numb, cold hands and feet with copious sticky saliva
  • Phlegm rales at night with heavy drowsiness and loss of taste
TongueWhite greasy or slippery coating
PulseWiry and slippery

Health Categories

Respiratory HealthBone & Joint HealthImmune Support

Modern Applications

Pleural effusionNeuralgiaIntercostal painSciaticaLymphadenopathy

Common adjustments

  • Water in the chest cavity with rib-pulling cough — the parent formula Shi Zao Tang addresses that directly
  • Any deficiency present — the formula is withheld and the deficiency treated first

Contraindications

Contains two toxic drastic water-expellants and is for excess patterns in a robust patient only. Withheld in deficiency, in the elderly and frail, in children, after childbirth, and while breastfeeding. Gan Sui and Jing Da Ji must not be combined with Gan Cao. Used briefly and stopped once the phlegm moves.

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

Pregnancy

Absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy. Gan Sui and Jing Da Ji are toxic drastic water-expellants on the classical pregnancy prohibition list, and the pill form does not change that. Also contraindicated while breastfeeding.

Related Formulas

References

Source San Yin Ji Yi Bing Zheng Fang Lun 《三因极一病证方论》 · Southern Song

「凡人忽患胸背、手足、颈项、腰胯隐痛不可忍，连筋骨牵引钓痛，坐卧不宁，时时走易不定。」
— 《三因极一病证方论》(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）— chapter placement, 功用 and 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.