“Dissolving” Poison Ivy With Chinese Herbs
Sometimes, when I’m prescribing herbs for a client, the “classical” herbal approach that I typically use doesn’t quite hit the nail on the head. At these times, I refer to other innovations in Chinese herbal thinking over the past couple millenia. One such innovation was a formula called Xiao Feng San, translated as “Powder to Dissolve the Wind.”* It’s this formula model that I turn to when I come across someone looking for help with the dreaded poison ivy rash.
Xiao Feng San is an herbal formula designed for itchy, red rashes. Its construction is based on four principles: “release the exterior”; dry dampness; cool inflammation; and nourish and move the fluids. I use these principles to construct my own poison ivy formulas. Let’s explore these four guidelines to see how we can help bring relief to that toxicodendron radicans rash.
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The first herbal grouping in Xiao Feng San features “exterior-releasing” herbs, which focus their activity on the superficial layers of the body. They open the pores, effectively ventilating the body surface. The idea is that the pathogen is “trapped” in the skin layers, where it moves around the body. Think of a fly that is trapped between a window and a screen, flitting to and fro. In the thinking of Traditional East Asian Medicine, the poison ivy pathogen is considered a form of “wind.” We experience it as moving here and there—now it’s my elbow that itches like crazy…now my ankle…now I’m fine…and now it’s back, even worse than before!
In our poison ivy remedy, we want to include particular herbs that “release” the trapped wind by opening the pores. They unseal the window to let out that pesky fly. These are herbs like schizonepeta (Jing Jie) and saposhnikovia (Fang Feng, which literally translates as “Guard Against the Wind”).
But it’s not only wind that is stuck on the surface of the body. There’s typically also “dampness”—pathological fluid build-up that causes discomfort. Often the rashes are weepy, swollen, glistening. This is why many people try to dry out the rash with medicinals like calamine lotion. Chinese herbs can help in this endeavor. The second group of herbs in Xiao Feng San helps to dry and drain excess fluid build-up. Such herbs include atractylodes (Cang Zhu) and akebia (Mu Tong).
The third group of herbs featured in our poison ivy formula helps to quell inflammation. These herbs are “cooling” in nature, and they’re especially appropriate if they have an affinity for the skin. Herbs in this category include smilax (Tu Fu Ling) and honeysuckle (Jin Yin Hua).
And the fourth principle inherent in Xiao Feng San is that we want the body’s physiological fluids, including the blood itself, to be (a) moving freely, (b) not-too-hot, and (c) abundant. When the fluids are mobile, they can help transport any nasty byproducts away from the infection sites and they can perfuse the tissues with healing nutrition. So, it’s necessary to include herbs like tree peony (Mu Dan Pi) to “move the blood.” Further, our healthy fluids are threatened by the heat from the infection, and so we want to include some juicy, cooling herbs to “protect” the body’s rivers. Herbs that accomplish this task include rehmannia (Sheng Di Huang) and anemarrhena (Zhi Mu).
I like to add one more component to my poison ivy formulas. In Traditional East Asian Medicine, itching is thought to affect the Heart organ network above all others. As anyone with a bad case of poison ivy knows, severe itching can vex your mind and mood, which are the domains of the Heart. And so, I tend to include at least one herb that helps calm and soothe the Heart, like Chinese knotweed vine (Ye Jiao Teng) or zizyphus seed (Suan Zao Ren).
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Urushiol—the rash-inducing oil found in poison ivy, as well as poison oak and poison sumac—can really wreak havoc on your body and mind, leaving you a scratching mess. If you or a client come into contact with the plant, know that these Chinese herbs can be a godsend!
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Below is a sample poison ivy formula that I’ve had success with. (As always, be sure to take into account your client’s constitution and their presently-arising signs and symptoms when prescribing herbs!)
Schizonepeta Stem or Bud • Jing Jie • 9g
Saposhnikovia Root • Fang Feng • 9g
Black Cohosh Rhizome • Sheng Ma • 9g
Atractylodes Rhizome • Cang Zhu • 9g
Honeysuckle Flower • Jin Yin Hua • 9g
Gypsum • Shi Gao • 9g
Smilax Rhizome • Tu Fu Ling • 12g
Chinese Knotweed Vine • Ye Jiao Teng 12g
Tree Peony Root Bark • Mu Dan Pi • 9g
Rehmannia Root • Sheng Di Huang • 9g
Licorice Root • Gan Cao • 6g
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*Note that there are several formulas with the name Xiao Feng San; the one I’m referring to here is from 1617’s Wai Ke Zheng Zong (“Orthodox Lineage of External Medicine”).
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