Immunopathologies

Formula: Rhinoceros Horn and Rehmannia Decoction

By Fornia ⋅ November 26, 2009 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Rhinoceros Horn and Rehmannia Decoction (犀角地黄汤) is known for clearing heaty blood that causes symptoms of extreme blood heat that include mania and hemorrhage. This formula is often used to treat erythemas — often the result of capillary dilation (毛细血管扩张) and congestion (毛细血管充血) — that may hemorrhage the extravascular blood forming purplish bruises (紫癜).

Allergic Purpura:

This formula is appropriate for treating allergic purpura (过敏性紫癜) — click here for more on AP. The person just gets inflammed capillaries on their skin, gastrointestinal tract and kidneys, often the result of a freak immune reaction to some microbial infection. It is isually kids who get it, because with kids, their immune system hasn’t fully matured yet.

In any case, the skin problems (usually at the buttocks and lower limbs) come up first, and you may see blood in the stool when there is bleeding in the intestines, but it is the ensuing nephritis that is most important to deal with. Because for many kids, this disease resolves very quickly and we just need to avoid the possibility of chronic nephritis.

While a formula like yin qiao san (银翘散) would be more appropriate at the beginning of the infection, and si miao san (四妙散) works specifically against accompanying joint inflammation (arthritis), it is xijiao dihuang tang (犀角地黄汤) that is most clinically applicable, since most patient come in during this segment of the disease process, when the the heat symptoms are strong, and the erythemas have begun to hemorrhage.

When the situation become chronic, tonics for the Spleen or the Liver-Kidney are more appropriate. Guipi Tang (归脾汤) is one possibility for the Spleen. Qian gen san (茜根散) — for which liuwei dihuang tang (六味地黄汤) or erzhi wan (二至丸) can substitute — would boost the Liver-Kidneys.

Most dangerous is the kidney inflammation caused by AP. In Nanjing at least, leigongteng duoganpian (雷公藤多苷片) is used for treatment, and is especially suited if there is proteinuria. Look here for more on Tripterygium Wilfordii for treatment of Nephrotic Syndrome. That said, we do have huangkui jiaonang (黄葵胶囊).

DLE:

It can also be useful against Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (盘状红斑狼疮).

Click here for more on ITP.

Sources:

• Judith Sims and Richard Robinson, http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/allergic-purpura
• 上海科技出版祥和，中医儿科学，p136-140

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