Xu, Yang - SP

Si Ni Tang

四    逆    湯

 Frigid Extremities

Function: rescues devastated Heart Kidney Yang (shock), warms mid Jiao, stop diarrhea, warm cold hands & feet.  

Si Ni Tang is said to be one of the only formulas that can tonify the Fire of both the Water and the Earth without injuring the Yin.

Composition: 

*cook for 30-60 minutes before adding other herbs

Indications:

Symptoms include very cold extremities, aversion to cold, sleeping in fetal position to keep warm, always tired, vomiting, diarrhea with undigested food in stool, abdominal pain, no thirst. T: pale with white slippery coat; P: deep weak thin.  

Pathology: (1) Exterior cold has gone internally, qi and yang are very weak and KI-SP yang have been damaded.  (2) KI Yang deficiency with internal yin cold pathogen accumulation.  This in turn creates a SP yang deficiency causing digestive problems (above).  The deficiency of yang can also easily be observed in the spirit (dull, tired, no will or motivation, no fire).  

These symptoms are quite closely related to shock, therefore the patient may also show signs of sweating, paleness, & void spirit (collapse of Yang).  Some say to use this formula before Yang gets too deficient.  

This formula may be indicated in acute myocardial infarction or cardiac failure, gastroenteritis, hypothyroidism, adrenal deficiency, certain arthritis.

References: Shang Han Lun

Links

Raynaud's Disease: Chinese Medical Perspective.  Subhuti Dharmananda

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