Wu Shao She乌梢蛇
ZaocysBlack-Striped Snake
Also known asBlack Grass-Snake
- Category
- Herbs that dispel Wind-Dampness
- Nature
- neutral
- Taste
- sweet, salty
- Channels entered
- Liver, Spleen
- Dosage
- 3–12 g
Usual doses
- Dosage
- 3–12 g
- Powder
- 3 g
Actions & indications
- Strongly unblocks the channels and extinguishes Wind
- Chronic Wind-Damp Bi with numbness and weakness of the limbs and cramps of the sinews (generally used for stubborn cases)
- Dispels Wind from the skin
- Tinea, dermatosis, skin numbness, rashes
- Dispels Wind from the sinews, strengthens tendons and bones and settles jitteriness and convulsions
- Spasms, tremors, or seizures
- Wind-Stroke with facial paralysis and hemiplegia
Contraindications
- Use cautiously in Yin Deficiency with Heat signs.
- Use cautiously during pregnancy.
- Use cautiously with Blood Deficiency or Wind arising from Blood Deficiency.
- Do not store in metal containers.
Combinations
Notes
- It resembles Agkistrodon/Bungarus Bai Hua She but is milder in action.
- It is made from the dried internal organs of the black-striped snake.
- It is used chiefly for rheumatism and pruritus.
- Patent medicines use it for parasitic skin disorders and pruritus.
- It treats itchy urticaria from Wind, scabies, skin numbness, stubborn Bi, and Wind disorders generally.
- Wu Shao She and Agkistrodon/Bungarus Bai Hua She both dispel Wind, unblock the collaterals, settle jitteriness, and stop convulsions, and are often combined for Wind-Damp Bi, itchy skin, and convulsions. Wu Shao She is non-toxic, with a somewhat gentler, more harmonizing action; it governs Wind in the Kidneys, whereas Bai Hua She governs Wind in the Lungs.
- Wine-prepared Zaocys Jiu Zhi Wu Shao She dispels Wind and unblocks the collaterals more powerfully, and is used for pain from Wind-Damp Bi, numbness, hemiplegia, childhood convulsions, and stubborn rashes.