Cnidium Fruit

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Dries dampness, kills parasites, and stops itching - She Chuang Zi is best known for external washes, powders, or ointments used for genital itching, eczema, scabies, ringworm, and other damp, itchy skin eruptions.
• Warms the Kidney and strengthens Yang - internally it is used for impotence, cold infertility, reduced libido, and cold lower-burner weakness when deficiency and chill predominate rather than heat.
• Dispels cold and dries dampness in the lower burner - a small internal dose can help cold-damp leukorrhea, vulvar itching, or chronic discharge with a pale, cold presentation.
• Dispels wind-damp and eases cold painful obstruction - later materia medica extends its use to low-back pain and fixed Bi pain when cold-damp obstruction and Kidney deficiency overlap.

Secondary Actions

• Because of its strong topical reputation, She Chuang Zi is commonly prepared as a wash, soak, powder, or ointment rather than used only in decoction.
• The herb is warm, drying, and slightly toxic, so it is chosen for cold-damp patterns much more often than for hot, red, or Yin-deficient itching disorders.

Classic Formulas

• She Chuang Zi San - external powder or wash classically used for damp itching, genital irritation, scabies, and weeping skin lesions in which the herb's parasite-killing and antipruritic actions are central.
• She Chuang Zi with Ku Shen and Bai Xian Pi - common external combination for vulvar itching, eczema, or fungal-type damp lesions that need both drying and itch relief.
• She Chuang Zi with Tu Si Zi and Yin Yang Huo - internal Kidney-Yang strategy for impotence, infertility, and cold lower-burner weakness rather than purely dermatologic use.
• She Chuang Zi with Du Huo or Wei Ling Xian - channel-warming pairing for cold-damp low-back pain or fixed Bi pain with lower-body weakness.

Classical References

• Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing records She Chuang Zi among early medicinals for damp itching and lower-burner disorders, establishing its long-standing reputation as a genital and skin herb.
• Later materia medica such as Ben Cao Gang Mu emphasizes both external antipruritic use and internal warming use for impotence, cold uterus, and leukorrhea.
• Modern teaching texts still classify She Chuang Zi primarily among external-application herbs even though its internal Kidney-warming role remains clinically important in cold-damp presentations.