Actions

Clear Yang-Ming and Qi Level excess heat
Generates fluids and stops thirst.
Drains Stomach fire.

Indications

High fever
Excess thirst
Profuse sweating
Irritability
Dry mouth
Aversion to heat

Ingredients

4 substances in Bai Hu Tang — each links to its full herb monograph.

No specimen photographGeng Mi9-15 gTonify Qi

Shi Gao30 gDrain Fire

Zhi Gan Cao3 gTonify Qi

Zhi Mu9 gDrain Fire

Preparation & dosage

Decoction. Cook until rice is done and ingest liquid.

Safety — read before use

Do not use in cases of Stomach and Spleen deficiency with symptoms such as spontaneous sweating, fever, aversion to wind, fatigue, and a floating deficient pulse

Do not use in cases of true cold and false heat.

Do not use in exterior conditions.

Originally Appeared In:

On Cold Damage (Shang Han Lun)

Notes:

This formula is often described as treatng the "4 Bigs", which are big fever, big thirst, big sweat, big pulse.

Sources & References

Compiled and edited by Thomas Dehli, Founder & Editor, Sacred Lotus

The information here is referenced from numerous sources — teachers, practitioners, class notes from Five Branches University, the books below, and the published research literature, with citations given as resolvable PubMed identifiers. Where sources disagree, I have flagged the discrepancies directly. If facts couldn't be verified, I have left them out. How we source our content.

Reference information for students and practitioners — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner. Terms of use.

Chinese Formulas Books & References

https://amzn.to/4fYI3f8
Dan Bensky
https://amzn.to/4j55NRA
Volker Scheid, Andrew Ellis
https://amzn.to/4gMROyv
Him Che. Yeung
https://amzn.to/4h7msSK
Qiao Yi

Browse all Chinese Medicine reference texts