Ma Huang
Ephedrae Herba
acrid, slightly bitter, warm
PRIMARY FUNCTION:
Releases the Exterior for Cold Attack
CLASSICAL MANIFESTATIONS:
- Chills
- Fever
- Headache
- Tight floating pulse
- Cough
- Wheeze
- Edema
- Sores
Ma Huang is acrid, slightly bitter, and warm to treat cold exterior attacks (taiyang). It enters the bladder and lung systems to treat common cold that may have edema, sores, and body aches. This presentation does not include sweating.
Ma Huang acts as a powerful stimulant and bronchodilator. When combined with caffeine and aspirin it has a truly thermogenic effect (fat burning) but taking it this way is dangerous. It was terribly abused for this purpose when diet companies over promoted it resulting in numerous injuries including kidney damage and stroke. The FDA unfortunately stepped in and made this herb illegal.
Channels: lung, bladder
COMMON APPLICATIONS AND CLINICAL POSSIBILITIES:
- Common cold
- Fever
- Cough
- Wheeze
- Skin abscess
- Poor circulation
- Allergies
- Eczema
- Rash
- Nephritis
Formulas:
- Da Qing Long Tang
- Die Da Wan
- Ding Chuan Tang
- Fang Feng Tong Sheng San
- Ge Gen Jia Ban Xia Tang
- Ge Gen Tang
- Gui Zhi Shao Yao Zhi Mu Tang
- Ma Huang Lian Qiao Chi Xiao Dou Tang
- Ma Huang Tang
- Ma Huang Xi Xin Fu Zi Tang
- Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang
- Mu Li San
- She Gan Ma Huang Tang
- Wu Hu Tang
- Wu Ji San
- Xiao Qing Long Tang
- Yang He Tang
- Yue Bi Tang
Contraindications: do not prescribe Ma Huang to patients that present with spontaneous sweating or wheezing due to kidney deficiency
Zoo Image: a porcupine with a headache and fever is going down a lung escalator to a sauna to help his wheeze, his face is puffy, he urinated, and there are ice cubes