Quan Xie - 全蝎 - Scorpio - Buthus Martensii - Scorpion
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Buthus Martensi Scorpio |
| Common English: | Buthus Scorpion |
Category
Herbs that Extinguish Wind and Stop TremorsProperties
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
| Salty Acrid (Sweet) | Neutral Toxic | Liver | 2-5g 0.25-1.5g when just the tail is used Powder: 0.6-1g |
Actions And Indications
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Extinguishes Wind and stops tremors and convulsions | Liver Wind and Wind-Phlegm-Heat with spasms, acute or chronic childhood convulsions, tetany, opisthotonos, tics, muscular tetany, and seizures |
Tracks down Wind, unblocks the collaterals and stops pain | Stubborn headaches and Bi pain |
Attacks and relieves Fire toxins and dissipates nodules and rashes | Topically for toxic sores, swellings scrofula (Chuang Yung) and cancer |
Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions
| CONTRAINDICATIONS |
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| INCOMPATIBILITIES |
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| HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
Major Combinations
| Scolopendra | Cornu Saigae Tataricae Or Cornu Saigae Tataricae | Rx. Codonopsis |
Muscle twitches of the extremities, rigidity and spasms of the entire body to the point of opisthotonos, trismus or convulsions. Wind due to high fever leading to seizures and convulsions. Epilepsy. Toxic, swollen sores and scrofula. Submandibular lymphadenitis. (internal or topical) Stubborn migraines. Wind-Damp Bi pain. Wind-Cold-Dampness. | Febrile convulsions in children. | Chronic childhood convulsions due to chronic diarrhea associated with Spleen Deficiency. |
| Cornu Saigae Tataricae | Rx. Curcumae | Scolopendra Or Periostracum Cicadae |
Convulsions due to Extreme Heat Generating Wind. | Seizures. | Tetanus and tetanus-like disorders. |
| Periostracum Cicadae | Bombyx Batryticatus | Rx. Angelicae Sinensis |
Stiffness and spasms of the jaw and rigidity of the entire body to the point of opisthotonos. | Facial paralysis due to Wind Stroke. | Headache and other painful obstruction. |
Rx. Aconiti Preparata | Fr. Gardeniae | Sm. Strychni |
Severe painful obstruction with contracted extremities and deformed joints. | Topically as a plaster for scrofula, sores and other toxic swellings. | Scrofula, goiter or other Phlegm masses. |
Scolopendra | Ram. Uncariae cum Uncis | Periostracum Cicadae |
Tuberculosis of the lymph nodes. | Seizures, convulsions spasms, tics, hemiplegia due to Wind-Stroke, numbness and pain in the limbs, and stubborn migraines or trigeminal neuralgia from Liver Wind or Liver Yang Rising. | Seizures, tetany and childhood convulsions. |
Bombyx Batryticatus | Pheretima | Bombyx Batryticatus |
Wind-Dampness. | Liver Yang Rising and Heat Stagnation. | Severe, continuous pain. |
Rz. Typhonii Preparatum | Squama Manitis | Bombyx Batryticatus |
Facial paralysis, and involuntary facial twitching due to Wind and Phlegm. | Stroke. | Seizure and epilepsy. |
Ram. Uncariae cum Uncis | Rz. Gastrodiae | Moschus |
Tetany, opisthotonos, spasms and cramps. | Headache. | Arthritis. |
| Periostracum Serpentis | Scolopendra | |
Malignant tumors. | Cancer of the ascending Colon. |
Notes
- Among substances that extinguish Wind, it is one of the most effective.
- It can penetrate the muscles and bones to drive out pathogenic factors, remove Dampness and eliminate pathogenic Wind.
- Venom pressed from the tail is used in cancer treatment.
- Its indications include cerebral vascular accident, Wind-Stroke, epilepsy and Wind-Damp Bi pain, and it is also good for stubborn headaches.
- Toxic side effects include respiratory paralysis, tonic spasms of the extremities and drooling.
- In treating toxic sores it follows the principle of “use poison to treat poison”.
- Historically the tail was used for tetany, acute febrile diseases and convulsions, and the whole body for hemiplegia. Nowadays the whole body is generally used for every indication.
- It is regarded as a good preventive for childhood disorders.
- Though classed as toxic, it causes little toxicity when taken orally compared with its sting.
- It is avoided during pregnancy, yet it is considered safe enough for infants, and this was one of its principal historical uses.
- For mastitis, it may be powdered and applied topically on its own.
- It is used for Liver and Colon cancers.
- For mumps, deep fry two scorpions and eat them as food.
- This herb, Bombyx Batryticatus Jiang Can, and Scolopendra Wu Gong all dispel Wind and stop spasms, and in severe cases they are often combined. Jiang Can is used mainly for Phlegm-Heat; Wu Gong is pungent and warm, the most intense of the three, and better suited to Wind-Cold; Quan Xie is pungent and neutral and better for Heat.
- Quan Xie and Rz. Typhonii Preparatum Zhi Bai Fu Zi both expel Wind and stop spasms, are applied externally for disorders such as scrofula, and are combined to treat facial paralysis, tetanus and convulsions. Quan Xie expels Wind more forcefully to stop spasms and convulsions, and is used externally for sores and toxic swellings. Zhi Bai Fu Zi is acrid, warm, intensely drying, and ascending and dispersing by nature; it is especially indicated for pathogenic Wind-Phlegm in the face and head causing facial paralysis, hemiplegia, scrofula, migraines or other severe one-sided headaches. It may also be used for Wind-stroke with copious Phlegm surging into the throat and impairing speech, and it is applied to skin disorders such as chloasma.