Du Huo独活

Dosis

3–10 g

Tincture

1–4 ml

• ·Use with caution in Yin or Blood Deficiency with signs of Heat, since it is drying and can readily damage Yin.
• ·Avoid in cases of Internal Wind.
• ·Use with caution during pregnancy.
• ·It has occasionally been linked to photosensitivity.

Caution is warranted in patients on anticoagulants such as heparin, warfarin (Coumadin) or enoxaparin (Lovenox), or on antiplatelet agents such as aspirin, dipyridamole (Persantine) or clopidogrel (Plavix), since combined use could produce an additive or synergistic effect.

• ·It is typically paired with Rz. seu Rx. Notopterygii Qiang Huo for Wind-Damp Bi, with this herb favoring the lower back and legs and Qiang Huo favoring the upper back and shoulders.
• ·It is regarded as the single most important herb for Wind-Dampness invasion.
• ·It plays a key role in treating headache, particularly of Wind origin.
• ·It also helps address Blood Stasis.
• ·Used by itself, Du Huo can serve as a mouthwash for toothache.
• ·It opens the channels and invigorates the vessels.
• ·Du Huo and Rz. seu Rx. Notopterygii Qiang Huo both dispel Wind, eliminate Dampness, disperse Cold and relieve Bi pain, and are frequently combined for Wind-Cold-Damp Bi. Du Huo acts more strongly on the foot Shao Yin channel and suits Wind-Damp in the lower body — pain of the lumbar region, legs, calves and feet — and also treats Shao Yin headache affecting the teeth and cheeks; its action goes deeper, targeting chronic lurking Wind in the interior, lower body and Shao Yin. Qiang Huo, by contrast, mainly enters the Tai Yang and is best for dispersing Wind, Cold and Dampness there by inducing sweating and releasing the exterior, making it more suited to upper-body attack with pain and stiffness in the upper back, neck, occiput and head.