Diabetes mellitus belongs to the category of “consuming thirst” in Chinese medicine. Xia Gu Cao has the effect of clearing the liver and brightening the eyes, dispersing knots and subduing swelling, but it is not mentioned in the pharmacopoeia as having therapeutic effect on thirst. Thirst can be treated with medicines such as Thirst Elimination Formula.
Xia Gu Cao is pungent, bitter, cold in nature, and belongs to the liver and gallbladder meridians, with the effect of clearing the liver and brightening the eyes, dispersing knots and subduing swelling. It is often used in the treatment of eye redness and swelling caused by exuberant liver fire, scrofula (mainly refers to the neck lymph node tuberculosis), gall tumors (equivalent to thyroid tumors) and other conditions. The adverse reactions and contraindications of this drug are not clear.
1. Chinese medicine categorizes thirst-quenching into upper-quenching, middle-quenching, and lower-quenching. Upper consumptive syndrome is lung-heat-toxicity (heat in the lungs, continuously depleting the body’s fluid) syndrome, clinically available thirst-quenching formula can be used to clear heat and moisten the lungs, generate fluid and quench thirst. The contraindication of this drug is not clear.
2. The Chinese Thirst Eliminator is divided into stomach heat and deficiency of qi and yin, the former can be used to clear stomach and remove fire, nourish yin and increase fluid (increase the body’s fluid); the latter can be used to benefit qi and strengthen the spleen, generate fluid and quench thirst. For those with deficient spleen and diarrhea, the Jade Lady Decoction should not be used.
3. Lower elimination is divided into deficiency of kidney yin and deficiency of yin and yang. Clinically, the former can be nourished by the Six-flavored Digoxigenin Pill to nourish yin and strengthen the kidneys; the latter can be nourished by the Jin Gui Kidney Qi Pill to nourish yin and warm yang, and tonify the kidneys. Six-flavored Dihuang Pills should be used with caution in cases of diarrhea due to spleen deficiency. Jin Gui Ren Qi Pills should not be used for people with dry throat and mouth, red tongue with little moss, and normal urination due to kidney yang deficiency.
The adverse effects of the above drugs are not known, and it is recommended to use them under medical supervision. If you feel unwell, it is recommended that you consult a doctor and follow the doctor’s instructions, do not take any medication on your own.