Perilla leaf addresses nervous nausea.

Alternative Names

• xiang su san
• hsiang su san
• xiong su san
• cyperus and perilla powder
• Cyperus and Perilla Leaft Powder
• koso san
• Kōso-san
• 香蘇散
• こうそさん
• TJ70; TJ-70; TJ 70

Benefits

• regulates emotionsl including pent-up tension or unexpressed feelings
• supports digestive functions

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Ban Xia (Pinellia) is a great drying herb that also addresses nausea.

Alternative Names

• ban xia hou po tang
• pan hsia hou pu tang
• pinellia and magnolia bark decoction
• hange koboku to
• TJ16; TJ-16; TJ 16
• hange kobuku-to
• Hange-kōboku-tō
• 半夏厚朴湯
• はんげこうぼくとう
• bàn xià hòu pō wán
• 半夏厚樸丸

Benefits

• Addresses the sensation that there’s something stuck in the throat, but it can neither be swallowed or coughed out. This is known in biomedicine as “glomus hystericus”. “Glomus” means a lumpy object and “hystericus” suggests that it is part of an emotional disturbance. So, while some doctors might suggest that this sensation is “all in your head”, Chinese medicine would describe this condition as “all in your liver and spleen”.

The “liver” in Chinese medicine is sensitive to emotional stress. When you get angry, frustrated, impatient or depressed, the functions of the Chinese liver is are compromised. One of these functions is keeping things circulating. If anything is supposed to move in the body, it has some relationship to the liver.

This formula also targets the “spleen” function which is digestive in this context. When the digestion is inefficient, it can create a by-product called “dampness”. This often manifests as excessive fluids in the digestive tract (gurgling, indigestion, bloating). However what is created in the digestion is stored in the lungs, and so a big meal can cause phlegm in the lungs, and “phlegm nodules” elsewhere in the body.

Phlegm nodules can be bumps and lumps. (Step one: if you have unexamined bumps or lumps in your body, you should get those checked out by your doctor.) These phlegm nodules can be visible (such as lumps or bumps) or invisible (such as the sensation of lumps or bumps).

This is because dampness can arise as extra fluids in the body, or as something more like high-humidity internally. This high-humidity can cause a sensation of heaviness in the body, fatigue, lack of sensory acuity, etc.

When there is emotional stress PLUS internal dampness, the humidity or fluids can congeal into a phlegm nodule that arises in the throat. This is one of those “invisible” phlegm nodules that can’t be seen, but the sensation is most certainly there. Chinese medicine calls this “plum-pit qi” or “plum-pit syndrome”. It is the sensation of something being caught in your throat but there’s not actually anything there.

By regulating the liver (call it the nervous system in this context) and spleen (digestive functions), this formula can “transform phlegm” by stimulating the efficiency of the digestion and moving the phlegm out of the throat.

There are other applications of this formula that do not require the sensation of something stuck in the throat. What this formula really does is dries damp and descends stuck qi. This action can also be helpful for coughing with white or clear phlegm with the sensation of something stuck in the chest. it is also used in Japan for sudden anxiety, depression, insomnia and palpitations that are accompanied by indigestion or edema.

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