Tuo Li Xiao Du San托里消毒散
Support the Interior and Resolve Toxin Powder
Ingredients12 herbs
Indications
Abscess with right qi depleted and toxin retained: either pus formed that cannot break through, or a sore that has opened and continues to weep thin discharge with pale, lax granulation. The strategy is to restore qi and blood so the body can finish the job itself.
Clinical Manifestations
- Deficient patient whose abscess will not come to a head
- Sores that have opened but discharge thin fluid and will not close
- Recurrent boils and carbuncles in a depleted constitution
- Slow-healing surgical or traumatic wounds, alongside wound care
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Heat toxin still active — redness, heat, fever — clear first, or add Lian Qiao 连翘 and Pu Gong Ying 蒲公英; tonifying into an active infection retains the toxin
- Sore already open and closing slowly — reduce or omit Zao Jiao Ci 皂角刺, whose work is done, and weight the tonics
- Cold in the interior with a pale, cold sore — add a warming herb such as Rou Gui 肉桂
- Poor appetite and loose stool from the rich tonics — add Chen Pi 陈皮 and Sha Ren 砂仁
Contraindications
The central caution is the classical one: tonifying while the toxin is still strong shuts the door with the thief inside. It is therefore not for an early, hot, rising abscess, nor for a patient with fever, spreading redness or a rapidly enlarging swelling — those need clearing, drainage and medical assessment first. Zao Jiao Ci is contraindicated in pregnancy and is unnecessary once the sore has opened. Ren Shen belongs to the group of the and must never be combined with Li Lu; it is also unsuitable where heat or high blood pressure is marked. Chuan Xiong and Dang Gui move blood, warranting care with anticoagulants and around surgery. The rich tonics burden a weak digestion and can cause fullness or loose stool. Clinically, a wound that will not close is a signal to look for a cause: diabetes, poor arterial supply, retained foreign material, osteomyelitis, malnutrition or malignancy all present this way, and all need diagnosis rather than a longer course of tonics.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Not used in pregnancy as written, because of Zao Jiao Ci and the blood-moving Chuan Xiong and Dang Gui. If a sore in pregnancy is not healing, it should be assessed medically; any herbal support is the treating practitioner's decision.
References
Source Wai Ke Zheng Zong 《外科正宗》 · Ming
- Classical source named in the source fields (pre-1900, public domain).
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.