Materia Medica Data
- Temperature
- Neutral
- Nature & Flavour
- Salty, Bitter, Neutral, Slightly Toxic
- Channels Entered
- LIV, BL
- Latin (pharmaceutical)
- Hirudo seu Whitmania
- Chinese
- 水蛭
- Tone Marks
- shuĭ zhì
- Translation
- Leech
Chinese Herb Actions
- Breaks Blood Stasis, Reduces Fixed Masses Strongly breaks blood stagnation associated with amenorrhea, fixed abdominal masses, traumatic injury.
Chinese Herb Dosage
- 3-6 grams in decoction, 0.3-0.6 grams in powders and pills (Bensky)
- Same as above (Chen)
Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions
- Do not use during pregnancy. This herb has been shown to cause teratogenic (birth defects) effects.
Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose
- Overdose symptoms occur 1-4 hours after ingestion. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, metrorrhagia, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, severe abdominal pain, hematuria, and coma.
-
This herb is considered toxic.
(while some Chinese herbs are toxic, it must be noted that many come prepared, or are combined, to mitigate their toxicity)
Herb-Drug Interactions
- Shui Zhi may interfere with Anti-Coagulating drugs.
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 Herbs Books & References
https://amzn.to/3WfB3DK
https://amzn.to/3DR1VUh
https://amzn.to/42aMz73
https://amzn.to/3PuD4bt