Liu Yi San六一散
Six-to-One Powder
Ingredients2 herbs
Indications
Summer-heat with damp: heat and damp bind together, so the heat cannot vent and the water cannot move. Opening the urinary route resolves both at once.
Clinical Manifestations
- Summer heat with damp: fever, irritability, thirst
- Scanty dark urine or difficult urination in hot weather
- Summer diarrhoea
- Burning urinary discomfort of damp-heat type
- Heat rash and prickly heat (also used as a dusting powder)
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Restlessness and insomnia from Heart heat — the classical answer is Yi Yuan San (Liu Yi San plus cinnabar) — but see its cautions; safer modern practice adds Dan Zhu Ye 淡竹叶
- Red eyes, sore throat, mouth ulcers — add Qing Dai 青黛 — Bi Yu San
- Mild exterior signs, headache, unproductive cough — add Bo He 薄荷 — Ji Su San
- Marked diarrhoea — add Fu Ling 茯苓 and Bai Zhu 白术 per pattern
Contraindications
Not for patterns without damp-heat: yin deficiency, injured fluids, or clear copious urine. Hua Shi is a mineral (talc) that must be of pharmaceutical grade and wrapped for decoction; it drains downward strongly, so short courses only and not as a daily habit. Prolonged or high-dose use is inappropriate in the elderly and in anyone with impaired kidney function.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Use with caution in pregnancy — Hua Shi drains downward strongly and is traditionally restricted during pregnancy; only short courses under practitioner supervision.
Related Formulas
References
Source 《黄帝素问宣明论方》 · Jin
- Classical source (public domain), as recorded in the source field.
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.