Soft-Shelled Turtle
Illustrated natural history of the animal kingdom, Goodrich, 1859

Soft-Shelled Turtle shell, Bie Jia
(Adam, 2017)

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Uses:

1. Nourish the Yin, Calms the Rising Yang:

-night sweats, chronic low-grade and tidal fever.
-various joint diseases and calculi.
-Deficient Heat from Overwork, excess sex etc

2. Moves the Blood and Clears Stasis:

-Swelling of the Liver or Spleen, abdominal masses
-chest pain
-amenorrhea from accumulation of blood.   
-excessive menstruation from heat.
-Tumors and Cancer (in Japan the whole Turtle, including the Meat and Shell has been decocted for Cancer).

Main Combinations:

1. Liver and Kidney Yin deficiency with Night-sweats, lower back pain:
i. Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Turtle Shell (Gui Ban)
ii. Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Liu Wei Di Huang Wan
2. Low grade Fever, Night sweats, Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Lycium bark (Di Gu Pi), Artemeisa Qing Hao
3. Internal Wind from Yin deficiency, Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Paeonia Bai Shao, Donkey hide glue (E Jiao), Fossil bones (Long Gu)
4. Hard and immobile masses of the abdomen:
i. Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Zedoary, Green Citrus peel (Qing Pi)
ii. Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Zedoary, Paeonia Mu Dan Pi, Peach kernel (Tao Ren), Safflower (Hong Hua)
5. Amenorrhea with abdominal masses: Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Rhubarb and Amber
6. Excess menstruation, Uterine Bleeding, Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Donkey hide glue (E Jiao), Chinese Mugwort (Ai Ye), Dang Gui
7. Chronic Malarial disorder, Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Bupleurum Chai Hu, Wingless Cockroach (Tu Bie Chong)
8. Chronic sores and ulcers, Soft-shelled Turtle Shell (Bie Jia) with Astragalus Huang Qi.

Major Formulas:

Da Ding Feng Zhu
Qing Gu San
Qiang Hao Bie Jia Tang
Rou Fu Bao Yuan Tang
San Jia Fu Mai Tang

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