Wiseman’s Chinese Medical Database

xiāo shí / 硝石 / 硝石 / niter

Latin pharmacognostic name: Nitrum

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names: 火消 huǒ xiāo; 火硝 huǒ xiāo; 焰消 yàn xiāo; 焰硝 yàn xiāo; 消石 xiāo shí; 银硝 yín xiāo; 化金石 huà jīn shí

Origin: Mineral

Use: medicinal

Category: External medicine agents / Toxin-attacking, worm-killing, and itch-relieving agents

Properties: Bitter and salty; cold; toxic.

Channel entry: heart, spleen, and lung channels.*

Indications:

• Attacks toxin and disperses swelling: Sores, boils, and toxin swellings; red eyes; throat impediment (hóu bì).
• Disinhibits urine and precipitates: Strangury with rough painful urination; jaundice.
• Breaks hardness and disperses accumulation: Sudden turmoil (cholera) or sand distension (shā zhàng) with abdominal pain.

  Dosage & Method:

  Oral: Use in powders or pills (1.5–3g). Topical: Grind to make eye medication or laryngeal insufflation.

  Warning:

  Contraindicated in pregnancy and in general physical weakness.

  Product Area:

  Shāndōng, Jiāngsū, Húnán, Húběi, Sìchuān, Guìzhōu.