WH Acupuncture & Herbs Centre

  Major Blue Dragon Decoction (Da qing long tang)，(Treatise on Cold- Attack)：

Ephedra 12g, cassia twig 4g, Roasted licorice 5g, bitter apricot kernel 6g, gyp­sum 12g, fresh ginger-9g, Chinese date 3 pcs.

Decoct ephedra first. After getting rid of the floating foam, put in the other herbs. The decoction should be taken warmly in a mug to have slight sweating. If sweating is abundant, puff the warm powder on body surface. It induce perspira­tion to relieve the exterior and clear away heat for relieving fidget. Indications: ex­ogenous attack of wind and cold marked by both heavy fever and chill, pain of body, absence of sweat but fidget, floating tight pulse.

NOTES: The indication of Major Blue Dragon Decoction is characterized by absence of sweat due to blockage of the skin orifices by the severe cold attack and fidget due to stagnation of the defense-yang transforming into interior heat. So, on the basis of Ephedra Decoction, the dosage of ephedra is doubled to strengthen di­aphoretic effect for relieving th| exterior, gypsum is added to clear away the inte­rior heat, double dosage of licorice with fresh ginger and Chinese date can mitigate the drastic diaphoretic effect of ephedra and cassia twig and harmonize the nutri­ent and defensive qi to nourishing the source of sweat. It is the strongest formula for inducing perspiration. So, it should be cautious to apply in clinic in order to prevent from over sweating.

The “warm powder” in this formula is the warm powder formula recorded in The Essential Formulae Worth A Thousand Gold for Emergency, i. e. calcined dragon’s bone and oyster shell (9g)，astragalus root(9g) and round-grained rice (30g). The powder of the above herbs is wrapped in cloth of thin silk which is dusted gently on skin to stop sweating.