Properties:
It is sweet in flavour, cold in nature and poisonous,
acting on the heart channel, clearing away heat, mainly
clearing away sthenic fire-syndrome of heart channel,
tranquilizing the mind. It is used for treatment of
irritability, insomnia and dreaminess due to overabundance
of heart-fire and excess of Yang. It has the action of
clearing away the heat and detoxication and can treat sore
throat and canker.
Effects: Tranquilizing
the mind and clearing heat and toxins.
Indications:
1. For
irritability, insomnia due to exuberant heart-fire, it is
often used with Rhizoma Coptidis, dried Radix Rehmannice
and Radix Glycyrrhizae, as in Cinnabar Sedative Bolus (Zhusha
Anshen Wan) to clear away heart-fire and tranquilize the
mind. In cases of high fever and delirium and
unconsciousness resulting from high fever or invasion of
heat and warm into blood of the ying system, it should be
used with heat-clearing, blood-cooling, detoxicating and
anticonvulsive drugs, such as horn rhnocerotis, Radix
Paeoniae Rubra, Calculus Bovis Rhizoma Coptidis.
2. To treat sore
throat and canker sores of mouth and tongue due to sthenic
fire and heat-toxin, it can be mixed with Borneolum, Borax
and Natrh Sulfus Exsiccatus, and ground into powder as in
Powder of Borneal and Borax (Bing Peng San) for external
use. For sores, carbuncles and other pyogenic diseases, it
is often used together with detoxicating drugs such as
Realgar, Rhizoma Pieionis, and Dangmenzi such as Zijinding.
In addition,
cinnabar is an antiseptic and can used to make pill
coating for preservation.
Dosage and
Administration: 0.3-1.0g,
ground into powder, to be infused for oral use. It also be
used in pill or powder. Proper dosage for external use.
Precautions:
Overdosage should be avoided. Intoxication may result in
long-term oral administration. Preparing by direct fire is
prohibited.
