"Wu Xiang Zhui Du Wan" (Five-Fragrance Toxin-Pursuing Pill) for Boils and Unnamed Toxic Swellings
In Yang Yi Da Quan (The Complete Source of External Medicine) there is a formula called "Wu Xiang Zhui Du Wan" (Five-Fragrance Toxin-Pursuing Pill) that treats boils (ding) and unnamed toxic swellings. It is composed of: Ru Xiang (Frankincense, remove oil), Xue Jie (Draconis Sanguis), Ba Dou Shuang (Croton meal), Lao Jun Xu (Cynanchi Stauntonii Radix), Mu Ding Xiang (clove mother), Lian Qiao (Forsythiae Fructus), Mo Yao (Myrrh, remove oil), Chen Xiang (Aquilariae Lignum), Guang Mu Xiang (Aucklandiae Radix), and Ku Ding Xiang (a species of clove), each 1.2 qian (3.6 g).
To use, grind the above into a fine powder, refine with honey into pills the size of Gorgon nuts (chicken-head rice). Take 1–2 pills each time, on an empty stomach or before meals; after having 2–3 bowel movements, stop by eating cold congee. This formula moves qi and invigorates blood, resolves toxin and settles pain. It is indicated for boils and unnamed toxic swellings of the excess type.
The Ru Xiang (frankincense), Mo Yao (myrrh), and Xue Jie (dragon's blood) used in this formula are common TCM herbs for invigorating blood, stopping pain, reducing swelling, and dissipating nodules; TCM commonly uses them for various toxic swellings and traumatic injuries. Frankincense, myrrh, and dragon's blood are all resin medicines and imported herbs, fairly expensive. All three irritate the stomach considerably; some patients develop acid regurgitation and heartburn after taking them, so those with a history of marked stomach trouble should use them cautiously.
Ba Dou Shuang (croton meal) in the formula is the processed product of croton seed after the oil has been removed. Croton seed is the seed of Croton tiglium (Euphorbiaceae) and belongs to the drastic purgatives of TCM. TCM uses croton to treat constipation of both urine and stool and edema; croton also has some anti-tumor effect. Croton is quite toxic and may cause severe diarrhea; using unprocessed croton directly is somewhat dangerous. To process croton, one generally stir-fries it hot, crushes it, and uses straw paper to absorb the oil; the remaining processed product is croton meal, whose toxicity is milder than raw croton.
The diarrhea caused by some TCM purgatives (such as rhubarb and croton) can be stopped by drinking cold congee. Thus both the Cheng Qi Tang in Shang Han Lun and this formula note that if the patient develops diarrhea after taking the medicine (a bowel movement or lower discharge), one may "stop it by eating cold congee."
Lao Jun Xu is the root fibers of Cynanchum inamoenum (Asclepiadaceae); because its shape resembles the beard of Lord Lao (the Taishang Laojun), it is named Lord Lao's beard. Lao Jun Xu clears heat and resolves toxin, protects the liver and promotes bile flow, cools blood and reduces swelling. It is commonly used for fever due to yin deficiency, chronic consumptive cough, hemoptysis, hypochondriac distending pain, nausea, dysentery, postpartum vexation, scrofula, unnamed toxic swellings, and snake, insect, and mad-dog bites.
Lian Qiao (Forsythia) also clears heat and resolves toxin, reduces swelling and dissipates nodules; it can treat various unnamed toxic swellings of the yang-excess type. It is called the "holy herb of the surgery department," and many TCM external-medicine formulas use Forsythia.
Mu Ding Xiang, Ku Ding Xiang, and Chen Xiang (agarwood) all belong to the qi-regulating herbs. These three qi-regulating herbs are used in this formula because excess-type patients often simultaneously have qi stagnation, qi counterflow, constipation, and epigastric/abdominal distending pain; using qi-regulating herbs moves qi and removes stagnation, assisting the other herbs in reducing swelling and dissipating nodules.