Agkistrodon Snake
(bai hua she)
Agkistrodon
acutus
Properties: Sweet and
salty in flavour, warm in nature, being poisonous, it
acts on liver channel. The action may pass through
exterior to interior, promoting the bone and expelling
the wind, clearing the channels to arrest convulsion. It
is suitable for rheumatic arthralgia, headache due to
latent wind, tetanus, leprosy, intractable tinea, etc.
Effects: Expelling the
wind and clearing channel, arresting the wind and
convulsion.
Indications:
1.
For rheumatic arthralgia, muscle spasm, it is
used in combination with pubescent angelica root (Radix
Angelicae pubescentis), Chinese angelica root (Radix
Angelicae sinensis) and acanthopanax bark ( Cortex
Acanthopanacis radicis), soaking in wine for drinking;
for aphonia caused by apoplexy or hemiplagia, it is used
together with astragalus root ( Radix Astragali seu
Hedysari), and Chinese angelica root to tonify the Qi
and blood, expel the wind and clear channels.
2.
For opisthotonus caused by tetanus, it is often
used together with scorpion (Scorpio), gastrodia tuber (
Rhizoma Gastrodiae) and Arisaema consanguineum Schott;
for infantile convulsion caused by high fever, it is
used in combination with cow bezoare (Calculus Bovis)
and Arisaema Bilis.
In
addition, it is suitable for headache caused by latent
wind, chronic infantile convulsion due to insufficiency
of spleen, leprosy and intractable tinea.
Dosage and Administration:
3-10g in decoction; 0.5-1g in powder. One whole snake
for decoction; 0.5-1g for powder.
Zaocys Dhumnades
(Cantor)
It belongs to Calubridae (Family Zaocys). This
drug is the whole snake after removal of its viscera.
Sweet in flavour, neutral in nature, and nonpoisonous,
its effects are similar to those of Agkistrodon snake
but milder. The usual dosage is 5-10g, 2-3g in powder.
