2 comments on “Bupleurum and Peony Formula (jia wei xiao yao san)”
Hi I am finishing my last year of chinese medecine. It might be a silly question but which herb do you use for headaches behind the eyes? I was told to add chuanxiong but i ve always been scared to use it when liver is aleeady hot, person also has tinnitus and dizzyness… Can you help me? Thanks! Love you website, the professionalism with the humour!
Hi Anne,
Good question
Chuan xiong can be added to any formula where there is a headache. All of the headache options that I use are chuan xiong plus another herb. If the patient’s already got too much yang rising, that might call for a treatment principle that descends using herbs such as long dan cao or shi jue ming.
But in the case of a hot liver with headaches behind the eyes, remember that this formula already has zhi zi and mu dan pi to cool the liver. Adding chuan xiong is okay, but you can also get by with just a pinch to help guide the effects upward to the head. Chuan xiong is a guiding herb that moves blood upward. I think of it as a blood-level equivalent of chai hu which lifts the qi such as it is used in bu zhong yi qi tang.
For headaches behind the eyes, I use chuan xiong with bai shao, however since bai shao is already in this formula, I just add the chuan xiong.
Good luck with your studies. Oh, and don’t expect the questions to end after you’re licensed, that’s when the best questions begin!
Hi
I am finishing my last year of chinese medecine. It might be a silly question but which herb do you use for headaches behind the eyes? I was told to add chuanxiong but i ve always been scared to use it when liver is aleeady hot, person also has tinnitus and dizzyness… Can you help me? Thanks! Love you website, the professionalism with the humour!
Hi Anne,
Good question
Chuan xiong can be added to any formula where there is a headache. All of the headache options that I use are chuan xiong plus another herb. If the patient’s already got too much yang rising, that might call for a treatment principle that descends using herbs such as long dan cao or shi jue ming.
But in the case of a hot liver with headaches behind the eyes, remember that this formula already has zhi zi and mu dan pi to cool the liver. Adding chuan xiong is okay, but you can also get by with just a pinch to help guide the effects upward to the head. Chuan xiong is a guiding herb that moves blood upward. I think of it as a blood-level equivalent of chai hu which lifts the qi such as it is used in bu zhong yi qi tang.
For headaches behind the eyes, I use chuan xiong with bai shao, however since bai shao is already in this formula, I just add the chuan xiong.
Good luck with your studies. Oh, and don’t expect the questions to end after you’re licensed, that’s when the best questions begin!