Lianhan Wan (Sweat-Astringing Pill) for Unstoppable Sweating and Easy Cold Sweats
The Huohren Xintong (Comprehensive Records of Activating the Spirit) contains a formula called Lianhan Wan (Sweat-Astringing Pill). It has the action of boosting qi and securing the exterior, and astringing yin and stopping sweat; it chiefly treats unbounded spontaneous sweating, or profuse cold sweats.Lianhan Wan consists of Huangqi (Astragalus) one liang (30 g), Duanmuli (calcined Oyster shell) one liang (30 g), Rougui (Cinnamon bark) half a liang (15 g), Zhimu (Anemarrhena) one liang (30 g, stir-fried), Renshen (Ginseng) half a liang (15 g), Baizhu (White Atractylodes) one liang (30 g), and Qianshi (Gordon Euryale seed) 100 grains. Preparation: grind all the above into powder, and form with refined honey into pills the size of a parasol tree seed. Take 70 pills each time, washed down with a decoction of Fuxiaomai (floating wheat), twice daily.According to traditional TCM theory, in this formula Huangqi, Renshen and Baizhu tonify qi and secure the exterior; Muli nourishes yin and astringes sweat; Rougui conducts fire back to its source; Zhimu nourishes yin and clears heat; Qianshi astringes and drains dampness. Used together, these herbs jointly achieve the effects of boosting qi and securing the exterior, nourishing yin and astringing sweat, lowering fire and clearing heat, and astringing and stopping sweat. It is therefore a very comprehensive formula for treating unbounded spontaneous sweating and unstoppable perspiration.After COVID, many patients have unstoppable sweating, and the sweat is cold. This has made us aware of a phenomenon: after a person is infected with a virus and their bodily function is damaged, they may develop the symptom of incessant spontaneous sweating. As for why this after-effect occurs, it is probably still hard to explain clearly.In addition, many weak people also have unstoppable sweating, especially cold sweats. Modern medicine has no corresponding treatment for this condition, but traditional TCM does have some symptomatic methods that can relieve the patient symptoms.Judging from its herbal composition, Lianhan Wan is suited to weak patients, and is not suitable for robust people with hyperhidrosis. Because Huangqi, Renshen and Baizhu in this formula are all tonifying herbs; when taken by the weak they achieve the purpose of treating disease, but when taken by the robust they are not only useless but actually harmful.The reason hyperhidrosis of the weak should be treated with pills rather than decoctions is mainly that this kind of disease has a long course and requires long-term treatment; one should follow the principle of treating chronic disease gently with pills.