Shi Zao Tang十枣汤
Ten-Jujube Decoction
Ingredients3 herbs
Indications
Water and thin mucus lodged in the chest and flanksor flooding the whole body as an excess-type oedema. Both are excess patterns in a patient whose strength can withstand an attack; the fluid is too deep and too fixed for diuretics to reach.
Clinical Manifestations
- Suspended fluidwith cough and pain on breathing that pulls at the ribs
- Hard, distended epigastrium with dry retching and shortness of breath
- Severe generalised oedema, heaviest below the waist, with a blocked bowel and bladder
- Ascites with abdominal fullness in a patient still strong enough to be attacked
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Patient weak but the water genuinely excess — attack and support are alternated on different days rather than combined in one prescription
- Phlegm lodged between the membranes rather than in the chest cavity — the appended Kong Xian Dan 控涎丹 is the milder, better-aimed choice
- Water excess with heat and a blocked bowel — the appended Zhou Che Wan 舟车丸 adds purging and qi-moving
Contraindications
All three purgative herbs are toxic. The formula is withheld in deficiency patterns, in the elderly and frail, in children, after childbirth, and where an exterior pattern is still unresolved. None of the three may be combined with Gan Cao — a classical incompatibility. Taken on an empty stomach in the morning as a single daily dose, discontinued as soon as a vigorous stool is produced, and followed by thin congee to restore the Stomach.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy. Yuan Hua, Gan Sui and Jing Da Ji are all toxic drastic water-expellants and all three appear on the classical pregnancy prohibition list; there is no dose at which this formula is appropriate in pregnancy. Also contraindicated while breastfeeding.
Related Formulas
References
Source Shang Han Lun 《伤寒论》 · Eastern Han
「其人漐漐汗出，发作有时，头痛，心下痞硬满，引胁下痛，干呕短气，汗出不恶寒者，此表解里未和也，十枣汤主之。」
- 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）— 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.