Shi Hui San十灰散
Ten Partially-Charred Substances Powder
Ingredients10 herbs
Indications
Blood moving recklessly from blazing heat in the upper burner. Fire in the Liver and Stomach or in the Lung drives blood out of its vessels, so it appears above — in sputum, vomit or the nose — bright red and abrupt.
Clinical Manifestations
- Coughing or spitting of blood from heat
- Vomiting of blood
- Nosebleed that will not settle
- Upper-body bleeding with a flushed face and irritability
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Bleeding heavy and continuing — add Bai Ji and Xian He Cao 仙鹤草
- Liver fire prominent with rage and headache — add Huang Qin 黄芩 and Long Dan Cao 龙胆草
- Yin deficiency with tidal fever after the bleeding stops — follow with a yin-nourishing formula rather than continuing this one
- Marked stasis with dark clotted blood — increase Qian Cao 茜草 so stanching does not leave stasis
Contraindications
Not for bleeding from deficiency-cold or from qi failing to hold blood — pale, dilute blood in a cold, exhausted patient — where cooling herbs make matters worse. This is an emergency stop-gap: substantial haemoptysis or haematemesis is a medical emergency and needs assessment, not only a powder. The Da Huang makes it unsuitable for a patient with loose stools or marked deficiency.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Used only under a practitioner's direction in pregnancy, and generally avoided. The formula contains Da Huang, which is purgative and classically restricted in pregnancy, and Mu Dan Pi and Qian Cao, which move blood. Any bleeding during pregnancy is an obstetric emergency that must be assessed medically first — a stanching powder is not the answer to it. It is a short-term remedy in any case and is not continued once the bleeding has stopped.
Related Formulas
References
Source Shi Yao Shen Shu 《十药神书》 · Yuan
「治劳证呕血、吐血、咯血、嗽血，先用此药止之。」
- Classical source (public domain) — 《十药神书》, Yuan dynasty, Ge Ke-jiu.
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）— 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.