Talcum

Naming
Hua Shi (Talcum)-Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shen Nong’s Herbal)

Origin
It belongs to the category of silicate mineral and its main component is Mg3(Si4O10)(OH)2.

Location
Shandong, Jiangxi and Shanxi provinces, etc. of China

Harvest
Collected in all year.

The true smell and taste
No fetid smell and no taste.

Best quality
Nattiness, blue-whitish, smooth without impurity.

Processing
Ground into powder or refined with water.

Property
Sweet, bland and cold; bladder, lung and stomach meridians entered.

Actions
Induce diuresis to treat stranguria, clear heat and summer-heat, dispel dampness to promote wound healing for external application.

Indications
A. Stranguria
It is cold in nature and acts for draining. It is good at clearing damp-heat in bladder to regulate water passage, so it is the essential herb for stranguria. For heat stranguria due to down-pour of damp-heat manifested as dysuria, scanty, deep dark and painful urine or anuresis, it is usually combined with the herbs of treating stranguria by clearing heat and inducing diuresis. For instance, it is combined with Caulk; Akebiae (Mutong), Semen Plantaginis (Cheqianzi), and Qu Mai in Ba Zheng San from He Ji Ju Fang. For urolithic stranguria, it is usually combined with Spora L ygodii (Haijinsha), Herba L ysimachiae (Jinqiancao), and Shi Wei to strengthen the actions of treating stranguria by inducing diuresis and removing stone. For instance, it is combined with Shi Wei in Er Shi San from Xiao Er Wei Sheng Zong Wei Lun Fang (Complete Book of Pediatrics).

B. Summer-damp and damp-warm disease
It can not only drain dampness but also clear summer-heat, and is usually indicated for summer-damp and damp-warm disease. For restlessness and thirst, scanty and dark urine due to summer-heat, it is combined with Gan Cao such as in Liu Yi San from Shang Han Biao Ben (Manifestation and Root Causes of Cold-induced Disease). For headache, chill, heavy sensation of body and chest oppression due to the early stage of damp-warm syndrome or summer-warm syndrome with dampness, it is usually combined with the damp-resolving and Lung-qi-ventilating herbs. For instance, it is combined with Semen Coicis (Yiyiren), Bai Kou Ren and Xing Ren in San Ren Tang from Wen Bing Tiao Bian.

C. Diarrhea
It can not only drain dampness to separate lucidity from turbidity but also clear heat and summer-heat. It is indicated for diarrhea due to summer-damp or damp-heat, and usually combined with the damp-draining and diarrhea-checking herbs such as Polyporus (Zhuling), Semen Plantaginis (Cheqianzi), and Yi Yi Ren to strengthen curative effect.

D. Eczema and miliaria
It has the actions of clearing heat and dispelling dampness, promoting wound healing and relieving itching when externally applied. For eczema, it can be used alone or ground into powder with Ku Fan and Huang Bai for external application. For miliaria, it is usually combined with Bo He and Gan Cao to be ground into powder for external application.

Dosage and Administrations
Decoct 10~20 g. It should be wrapped decocted. Proper dose is for external application.