Opioid-based Formula for Diarrhea (Zhen Ren Yang Zang Tang)

Formula Composition:
One well-known formula to treat deficiency diarrhea is zhenren yangzang tang (真人养脏汤). The formula make-up is as below:

yingsuke (罂粟壳)
roudoukou (肉豆蔻), hezi (诃子)
renshen (人参), baizhu (白术)
danggui (当归), baishao (白芍)
muxiang (木香)
gancao (甘草)

On Opium:
Papaver somniferum (罂粟) is the opium plant, which is the source for most known opiates e.g. morphine, codeine. The pods of the poppy seed [...]

Comparative take on Baohe wan

保和丸，治一切食积。 (line from 《丹溪心法》)
Baohe wan is a medical formula created by Zhu Danxi used to treat what is termed food stagnation (食积). Especially useful if one feels a bloating sensation in the stomach after a meal, a sign of possible indigestion. We already have the TCM explanation for this formula make-up. It would hence be more [...]

Chinese Medicine for Vomiting

As with most other diseases, TCM makes diagnosis as to whether the patient is in a state of excess or deficiency. For various reasons (to be outlined soon), the stomach’s internal harmony and down-bearing functions have gone awry, causing qi to push upward instead (胃失和降，气逆而上).
 
Excess:

It could be food getting jammed down there, hence baohewan is theoretically appropriate. [...]

Summary of Anorectal Diseases

Two-point Summary:

If we were to broadly summarize common anorectal diseases, it’s either infections or growths.
Growth can create a burden on the anorectal wall, causing ptosis due to excess. Ptosis can be due to deficiency too – see article on rectal prolapse and its treatment using Chinese herbs for more.

Infections and sequela include:

Cryptitis
Perianorectal Inflammation and Abscesses
Fistulae

Read [...]

Chinese Medicine to treat Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids (痔疮):
Hemorrhoids can be internal or external depending on whether they have formed above or below the pectinate line (齿状线) aka verge. Internal hemorrhoids form above the pectinate line and are rectal varices (直肠静脉曲张). External hemorrhoids form below the petinate line, some of which are the varices of the anal canal (肛门静脉曲张). Beside being varices, [...]

Ptosis of the Anorectal Region: Making Sense of the Names

Ptosis (下垂/脱垂) refers to drooping of any body part. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is reference to ptosis of the stomach, the eyelid, the uterus and of course the anus.
Now, how is this ptosis of the anal rectal region related to anorectal diseases which modern day medicine has subcategorized anatomically and histologically?
We have the following [...]