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Knowledge baseHerbs

Tu Bie Chong (Di Bie Chong)土鳖虫

Eupolyphaga/SteleophagaGround Beetle

  • Slightly toxic

Also known asWingless Cockroach · Eupolyphaga

Category
Herbs that Invigorate Blood
Nature
cold
Taste
salty
Channels entered
Liver, Heart, Spleen
Dosage
3–12 g

Usual doses

Decoction
3–12 g
Powder
1–1.5 g
Cancers
9–15 g

Actions & indications

Breaks up and drives out Blood Stasis, invigorates Blood circulation and disperses lumps and masses
  • Blood Stasis with abdominal masses and amenorrhea
  • Swollen tongue due to Blood Stasis
Knits together sinews and joins bones
  • Traumatic injury with lacerations, contusions and fractures
  • Lumbar strain (toasted and ground into a powder)

Contraindications

  • Not to be used in the absence of Blood Stasis.
  • Contraindicated during pregnancy.
  • It may cause sinus bradycardia.
  • It may cause an allergic skin reaction.
  • It may cause generalized weakness, nausea, vertigo, and gastrointestinal irritation.

Interactions

Use cautiously in patients taking anticoagulants such as heparin, warfarin (Coumadin), and enoxaparin (Lovenox), or antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin, dipyridamole (Persantine), and clopidogrel (Plavix), since combined use may produce an additive or synergistic effect.

Combinations

Notes

  • It unblocks stagnant breast milk.
  • It is used primarily for gynecological Blood Stasis and for healing traumatic injuries.
  • It is reported to treat unilateral stiffness, swelling, hardening, and pain of the tongue caused by an extreme buildup of Heat toxin in erysipelas and scarlet fever, with accompanying symptoms of involuntary salivation and difficulty swallowing; the method is to decoct 6g with 3g of salt and take it twice daily.
  • It inhibits cancer cell growth.
  • It is used for Stomach and Liver cancers.
  • For stagnant breast milk, one piece is ground into powder, dissolved in water, filtered, and then taken.
  • For thick Phlegm and Stomach cancer, it is stewed and taken twice daily.
  • When cut with a knife it releases a syrupy liquid, yet if the pieces are rejoined they will reconnect and the creature will move again.
  • Tu Bie Chong and Hirudo Shui Zhi both break up Blood Stasis and dispel Stagnation, but Tu Bie Chong additionally aids the healing of sinews and bones, promotes lactation, and addresses tongue numbness, making it the better choice for Blood Stagnation occurring within a deficient condition.
  • Dry-frying it (Chao Tu Bie Chong) reduces both its toxicity and its unpleasant odor.
  • Tu Bie Chong, Tabanus Meng Chong, and Hirudo Shui Zhi are all potent Blood-Stasis-breaking substances capable of injuring Qi if misused, ranked from strongest to weakest as Meng Chong, then Shui Zhi, then Tu Bie Chong.

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