Fishwort has the efficacy of clearing heat and removing toxins (removing heat and toxicity from the body), eliminating carbuncles and discharging pus (eliminating carbuncles and discharging pus), and diuretic and diaphoretic (improving the problem of dribbling urine and the problem of small and incomprehensible amount of urine). There is no relevant literature documenting its possession of ten claims of efficacy.
Fishweed is the dried above-ground part of Houttuynia cordata, family Houttuyniaceae. It is pungent in taste, slightly cold in nature, and belongs to the lung meridian. It is mainly used for treating lung carbuncle and vomiting pus, coughing and wheezing due to lung heat, feverish sores and carbuncles (sores and carbuncles appearing on the surface of the skin due to excessive heat and toxins within the body), damp-heat gonorrhea (increased frequency of urination and astringent pain in the gonorrhea), and damp-heat diarrhea (diarrhea due to feeling the damp-heat evil), and so on.
Fishweed is used to treat phlegm-heat congestion, chest pain, pus, blood and foul-smelling phlegm, often used with Platycodonopsis, Rehmannia glutinosa and Psidium guajava; to treat phlegm-heat coughing and wheezing, often used with Scutellaria baicalensis, Zhenbeimu and Zhimu; for treating heat-poisoned sores and ulcers, it can be used with wild chrysanthemums, dandelion, honeysuckle and forsythia; for treating heat-heat gonorrhea and astringent pain, it is often used with Plantago ovata, Imperata cylindrica, Hedera alba and other medicines.
This medicine should not be decocted for a long time. It is contraindicated in cases of deficiency-cold syndrome and sores and ulcers of Yin syndrome, and the adverse effects are not yet clear. If application is required, it is recommended to consult a medical professional and should not be taken by oneself, resulting in adverse effects.