Difficult urination treated with TCM plantain seeds

What are plantain seeds(Che Qian Zi)?
It refers to the dried mature seeds of psyllium (Che Qian Cao), including Plantago asiatica L. or P. depressa Willd. Actually the former is found everywhere in China, and the latter grows mainly in Northern provinces. The medicinal seeds are usually collected in summer and autumn when they are ripe. The typical process is harvesting the clusters, drying in the sun, rubbing the fruits out with the hands, and removing the impurities. Plantain seed is usually used in the forms of either unprocessed or stir-fried with salt-water.

The genuine plantain seeds are in the shapes of oval, and irregular oblong or triangular-shaped oblong. It is slight flat, about 2mm long and 1mm wide. The surface color is from yellowish brown to dark brown, with fine wrinkles. Off-white concave dot umbilici are usually seen on one side. Besides, it is kind of hard, slightly odorous, and tasteless.

What is plantain seed used for?
In the practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is considered sweet, and slightly cold in nature. And it goes to four meridians like liver, kidney, lung, and small intestine. Its main functions are to clear heat, promote urination, eliminate dampness to check Diarrhea, clear the eyes, and expel phlegm. Its primary uses and indications are difficult urination, morbid vaginal discharge, stranguria with turbid discharge, Edema, tumidness, diarrhea induced by summer-heat and damp, bloodshot eyes, slight corneal opacity, and Asthma due to phlegm-heat stasis. Usual dosage is from 9 to 15 grams based on the diagnosis.