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Cura x Cura

Xiao Jin Dan小金丹

Small Golden Elixir

Warming the Interior 温里剂Warm the Channels and Disperse Cold 温经散寒

Ingredients10 herbs

白Bai Jiao Xiang白胶香制末150gResin that dispels stasis, reduces swelling and generates flesh
草Zhi Cao Wu草乌制末150gStrongly warms and disperses deep cold and stops pain — a toxic aconite root usable only in processed form
五Wu Ling Zhi五灵脂制末150gBreaks up blood stasis and relieves the fixed, boring pain of a knotted mass地Di Long地龙制末150gUnblocks the collaterals so the dispersing herbs reach a fixed lesion
木木鳖制末150g
没Mo Yao没药净末75gDispels stasis, reduces swelling and works with Ru Xiang to stop pain
归Dang Gui (Gui Shen)归身净末75gNourishes and moves the blood so the attacking herbs do not simply deplete it
乳Ru Xiang乳香净末75gMoves qi and blood and relieves pain in the sinews麝She Xiang麝香15gAromatic opener that penetrates the knot and carries the formula to it — an abortifacient risk, CITES-restricted, and omitted or substituted in modern practice
墨Mo Tan墨炭12gA small amount of charred ink, used traditionally to settle the blood and bind the pill

Indications

Transforms phlegm and dispels dampnessDispels blood stasis and unblocks the collateralsDisperses hard, fixed cold nodules and relieves their pain

Cold-damp, phlegm and blood stasis knotted together in the deep tissues. The skin colour is unchanged and the mass is hard and fixed; the strategy is to break the knot rather than to warm and fill.

Clinical Manifestations

  • Hard, fixed nodules of cold phlegm and stasis
  • Wandering deep swellings that do not come to a head
  • Scrofulous neck lumps in a cold, non-inflamed presentation
  • Chronic cold swelling around bone with fixed aching
  • Painful lumps that Yang He Tang alone has not moved
TonguePale or dusky with a white greasy coating
PulseDeep and rough, or wiry（／）

Health Categories

Women's HealthBone & Joint HealthImmune Support

Modern Applications

Benign breast lumpLymphadenitisChronic osteomyelitisSoft tissue noduleFibroadenoma

Common adjustments

  • Marked yang deficiency underlying the lumps — give alongside or alternate with a warming tonic formula under practitioner direction
  • Pain severe — the course is shortened rather than the dose raised — the toxic ingredients set the ceiling

Contraindications

Contraindicated in pregnancy, in children, while breastfeeding, and in anyone frail or with liver, kidney or heart disease. Not for hot, red, inflamed sores, and not for long-term use. This is a toxic formula: prepared Cao Wu is an aconite root, Mu Bie Zi is toxic, and the classical musk is an abortifacient risk. Any hard, fixed, growing lump needs a medical diagnosis before it is treated as a cold nodule.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.

Pregnancy

Absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. The formula contains prepared Cao Wu — an aconite root whose alkaloids are cardiotoxic even after processing — together with toxic Mu Bie Zi and, in the classical version, musk, which is a recognised abortifacient. It is also unsuitable for children and for anyone who is frail. Only a licensed practitioner should dispense it, and only for a short defined course.

Related Formulas

References

Source Wai Ke Zheng Zhi Quan Sheng Ji 《外科证治全生集》 · Qing

  1. Classical source (pre-modern, public domain) as recorded in the standard formula literature.
    2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition 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.