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Summerheat-dispelling formulas

袪暑劑 〔袪暑劑〕 qū shǔ jì

Medicinal formulas that eliminate summerheat, that is conditions resulting from the torrid heat of summer, manifesting as generalized heat effusion, vexation and thirst, fatigue, inhibited urination, and a pulse that is rapid.

Summerheat-dispelling formulas correspond to clearing heat among the eight methods and are classified as heat-clearing formulas in some modern texts. Treatment of summerheat is similar to that of warm-heat disease, but given that summerheat in China is associated with rainy weather and dampness of late summer, summerheat evil is often combined with dampness evil and the damage to qì and yīn that it causes. Furthermore, since torrid summer weather causes people to favor cold food and drinks, so that summerheat is often paradoxically associated with cold. Summerheat with dampness and cold is often traditionally referred to in Chinese culture as yīn summerheat. Hence, treatment of summerheat conditions often involves not only dispelling summerheat itself, but also transforming dampness and resolving the exterior.

Compared to most warm-heat evils, summerheat is associated with greater upbearing and dispersion tendencies, which damage qì and liquid. Heat effusion tends to be stronger and to be accompanied by thirst, heart vexation, and copious sweating.

In treatment, it is important to gauge the relative importance of summerheat and dampness. When summerheat is the stronger evil, it is important not to use excessively warm and dry medicinals that might damage liquid excessively. When dampness is the stronger evil, agents used should not be to sweet and cold, otherwise these will prevent the dampness from being eliminated.

Attention must also be paid to damage to qì and liquid. Where this is present it is important to add qì-boosting and/or yīn-nourishing medicinals to ensure that complete recovery.

Subcategories

  1. Summerheat-dispelling exterior-resolving formulas
  2. Summerheat-dispelling dampness-disinhibiting formulas
  3. Summerheat-dispelling heat-clearing formulas
  4. Summerheat-dispelling qì-boosting formulas

1. Summerheat-Dispelling Exterior-Resolving Formulas

Formulas that dispel summerheat and resolve the exterior treat external contraction of wind-cold with summerheat-dampness damaging the center, manifesting in heat effusion with aversion to cold, absence of sweating, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, oppression in the chest together with a white slimy tongue fur. This calls for treatment that dispels summerheat and transforms dampness while resolving the exterior, using xiāng rú sǎn1 (香薷散1 Mosla Beverage1) as the main gent combined with qì-moving dampness-transforming medicinals such as hòu pò (厚朴 Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex, officinal magnolia bark).

Representative formula: Xiāng rú sǎn1 (香薷散1 Mosla Beverage1)

2. Summerheat-Dispelling Dampness-Disinhibiting Formulas

Formulas that dispel summerheat and disinhibit dampness treat summerheat with dampness, with summerheat-dampness pouring downward, manifesting generalized heat effusion, vexation, and thirst, inhibited urination, or diarrhea. They use agents that clear summerheat-heat and disinhibit urine.

Main agents

Representative formulas

3. Summerheat-Dispelling Heat-Clearing Formulas

These formulas treat summerheat-heat with generalized heat effusion, heart vexation, profuse sweating, and thirst. They use sweet cool qì-clearing summer-heat dispelling medicinals.

Main agents

Representative formula:

  • Qīng luò yǐn (清络饮 Network-Clearing Beverage)
    • .

    4. Summerheat-Dispelling Qì-Boosting Formulas

    Formulas that dispel summerheat and boost qì treat summerheat with damage to qì and liquid, manifesting in fatigued limbs, generalized heat effusion, profuse sweating, dry mouth, heart vexation, no thought of food and drink, sloppy stool or diarrhea, short voidings of reddish urine, together with a slimy tongue fur and pulse that is vacuous.

    Representative formulas

    Summerheat-Dispelling Formulas

    Summerheat-Dispelling Exterior-Resolving Formulas

    Summerheat-Dispelling Dampness-Disinhibiting Formulas

    Summerheat-Dispelling Heat-Clearing Formulas

    Summerheat-Dispelling Qì Boosting Formulas

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