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Cura x Cura

Mi Tuo Seng密陀僧

Lithargyrum · Litharge · Lead Monoxide

Herbs for External Application 外用药

Overview

  • · — appended to Qian Dan 铅丹 in the textbook arrangement.*

The yellow-to-orange lead oxide left when lead is smelted — chemically lead monoxide, and the second of the two lead minerals in this sub-section. Salty, acrid, neutral and toxic, it dries damp, kills parasites, checks putrefaction and astringes a weeping surface: the classical indications are ulcerated sores, eczema, tinea versicolor, body odour and mouth ulcers, and it also appears in old face-powder and skin-whitening preparations. That cosmetic history is the part worth remembering, because lead oxides used as folk remedies and cosmetics are a documented cause of childhood lead poisoning in several countries. Lead is cumulative, most Western jurisdictions prohibit it in medicines, and this entry is a record of the classical materia medica rather than a recommendation.

Nature & Flavor

Salty, acrid · Neutral · Toxic

Channels

Liver · Spleen

Typical Dosage

**External use in a small compounded amount** — the powder dusted on, blended into an ointment, or made into a wash. The classical internal dose, 0.2–0.5 g in pills or powder, is obsolete and should not be revived. Small area, short course.
密陀僧Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

4 core actions

  • Dries damp, astringes a weeping soreEczema and damp skin lesions that ooze and will not dry, ulcerated sores with thin discharge, and chronic mouth ulcers.
  • Kills parasites, checks putrefactionScabies, ringworm and tinea versicolor in the classical record; the mineral was also relied on to keep an external preparation from spoiling.
  • Resolves toxin on the surfaceToxic sores, rosacea-type facial eruption and body odour, in the classical external use.
  • Settles phlegm, calms frightThe classical internal use, shared with Qian Dan, for convulsive and phlegm-obstruction patterns. Obsolete.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Mi Tuo Seng

No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Weeping eczema, damp skin lesions and ulcerated sores (classical external use)
    - Scabies, ringworm and tinea versicolor (classical external use)
    - Mouth ulcers, rosacea-type eruption, body odour (classical external use)
    - Convulsion and phlegm patterns (classical internal use, obsolete)

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

Lead poisoningEczemaTinea versicolorMouth ulcerAnaemia

Contraindications

Cautions

Mi Tuo Seng is lead monoxide — a lead compound, toxic and cumulative. Read this entry as a record of the classical materia medica, not as a treatment recommendation.

  • Do not take it internally. The 0.2–0.5 g classical dose is recorded above for completeness only.
    - The poisoning picture is lead's, and it builds quietly: cramping abdominal pain with constipation, anaemia, fatigue and headache, irritability and difficulty concentrating, a blue-grey line at the gum margin, wrist and finger extensor weakness, and kidney injury. In children the harm to the developing brain is permanent and no blood lead level is considered safe.
    - The cosmetic route is a real hazard, not a historical curiosity. Lead oxide powders sold as folk remedies and as skin-lightening or face-powder preparations have caused documented lead poisoning, including in children given them by family members. Do not use this mineral on the face, do not use it as a cosmetic, and treat any imported unlabelled yellow or orange powder sold for skin or for colic with suspicion.
    - Absorbed through broken skin and by ingestion. Use only on a small area for a short defined course; never on large ulcerated surfaces, on burns, in body cavities, on mucous membranes or on the nipple.
    - Absolutely avoided in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, in children and infants, and in kidney impairment or anaemia.
    - Do not inhale the dust, and wash hands after handling — hand-to-mouth transfer is one of the common routes of lead exposure.
    - Legal status. Lead in medicinal products and in cosmetics is prohibited or tightly restricted in the EU, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia. A practitioner outside China generally cannot legally supply this — confirm the position with your own regulator.
    - What is used instead. Eczema, tinea and mouth ulcers all have specific modern treatments, and all of them need the diagnosis first.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Contraindicated in pregnancy and while breastfeeding — lead crosses the placenta, is mobilised from maternal bone during pregnancy, passes into breast milk, and harms the developing nervous system. There is no safe amount.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Mi Tuo Seng enters the Chinese materia medica through the Tang 本草 literature; the first source text is not asserted here.
    2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
    3. 《中华人民共和国药典》(external use; the caution against prolonged and large-area application).
    4. Public health agencies have documented childhood lead poisoning from lead-oxide folk remedies and cosmetic powders; see national lead exposure guidance.
    5. Lead in medicinal products and cosmetics is prohibited or restricted in most Western jurisdictions — confirm the current position with your own regulator.

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.