Xie Huang San泻黄散
Drain the Yellow Powder
Ingredients5 herbs
Indications
Hidden fire in the Spleen: heat that has settled into the Spleen and gives few of the loud signs of Stomach fire, showing instead as sores at the mouth — the Spleen's opening — with dryness and hunger. It has to be dispersed out, not simply pressed down.
Clinical Manifestations
- Recurrent mouth and tongue ulcers
- Bad breath with a dry mouth and cracked lips
- Thirst and easy hunger with restlessness
- Paediatric tongue-thrusting and drooling from Spleen heat
- Burning mouth with a red tongue and rapid pulse
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Ulcers recur and are slow to heal — add Huang Lian 黄连 briefly
- Damp-heat with a greasy coating — add Pei Lan 佩兰 to aromatically transform it
- Fluids clearly damaged — add Sheng Di Huang 生地黄 and Mai Men Dong 麦门冬
Contraindications
Not for mouth ulcers of yin deficiency with empty fire, which are pale-rimmed, recur with fatigue and come with a peeled tongue — dispersing would consume the yin further. Not for Spleen deficiency cold with loose stools. Persistent oral ulceration deserves medical assessment.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Generally compatible in pregnancy under practitioner supervision — no herb here is conventionally withheld in pregnancy, though the cold Shi Gao and Zhi Zi are used sparingly and stopped once the sores settle.
Related Formulas
References
Source Xiao Er Yao Zheng Zhi Jue 《小儿药证直诀》 · Northern Song
- Classical source (public domain) — composition per the standard textbook record.
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.