Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin五味消毒饮
Five-Ingredient Drink to Eliminate Toxin
Ingredients5 herbs
Indications
Fire toxin knotted in the skin and flesh: the lesion is red, hot, hard and painful with a deep root, and there may be fever and chills. It addresses the acute inflammatory stage; once the sore has opened and is discharging, the strategy changes.
Clinical Manifestations
- Hard, deep, painful boils and furuncles
- Red hot swollen abscesses and carbuncles
- Inflamed cystic acne
- Early mastitis with a hot painful lump
- Localized skin infection with fever and chills
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- High fever and marked thirst — combine with Huang Lian Jie Du Tang for stronger fire-draining
- Deep red lesions with heat in the blood level — add Mu Dan Pi 牡丹皮 and Chi Shao 赤芍
- Hard lump slow to disperse — add blood-moving herbs such as Tao Ren 桃仁 and Hong Hua 红花 per pattern
- Sore already open and discharging in a depleted patient — stop the pure clearing approach — the pattern is no longer one of excess and needs supporting the upright qi
Contraindications
Cold and draining throughout: not for sores that are pale, flat, chronic or oozing thin fluid, and not for people with a cold weak Spleen and loose stools. It is used in short courses only. A spreading infection, a red streak from the lesion, or high fever needs medical assessment — this formula is not a substitute for antibiotic treatment where that is indicated.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
No specific classical prohibition, but a formula this cold can injure Spleen yang and is never taken for long. In pregnancy it is used only briefly and only under practitioner supervision; Zi Hua Di Ding and Tian Kui Zi in particular are handled cautiously, and a skin infection during pregnancy warrants medical assessment.
Related Formulas
References
Source 《医宗金鉴》 · Qing
- 《医宗金鉴·外科心法要诀》(Qing imperial compilation, public domain) — classical source of the formula.
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.