The efficacy and function of clam powder

Do you know clam powder? It is a common Chinese medicinal material and is very helpful for some diseases. Let me show you today.

[Alias] Clam powder (from "Shenghuifang").

[Source] It is a powder of shells such as the tetrapod clams of the clam family.

【Original form】For details about the form, please refer to the entry for "clams".

[Preparation method] Take the clam shells, calcine them over charcoal fire, and then grind them into fine powder.

【Nature and flavor】 ① "Danxi's Heart Method": "Salty, cold."

[entry into meridians] Enters the lung and kidney meridians.

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat, promotes dampness, resolves phlegm, and softens hard masses. It is used to treat cough, wheezing and swelling due to phlegm and fluid, edema due to water retention, stomach pain and vomiting, leucorrhea, metrorrhagia, leucorrhea, goiter and burns.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral administration: in the form of pills or powder, 1 to 3 qian. For external use: apply on affected area.

【Note】 "Compendium of Materia Medica" states: "Patients with spleen and stomach deficiency should use less or take it together with spleen and stomach-tonifying medicine."

[Additional prescription] ① Treating cough and wheezing caused by phlegm and fire: Wash clam shells, roast them on charcoal fire to remove fire toxins, grind them into powder, store in porcelain container, and when you encounter symptoms of phlegm and fire, take one or two liang of the shells, divide into three doses, eat less dinner, mix with flour paste, knead into pills as big as soybeans, use a little boiling water, swallow the pills in two or three mouthfuls, swirl the pills around and swallow them, do not let them drain. (From "Experience Collection" Clam Powder)

【Discussions by various scholars】 ① Wang Haogu: "Clam powder is a medicine for the blood of the kidney meridian, so it is used to treat damp cough and slippery kidney diseases."

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Compendium of Materia Medica"; "Compendium of Materia Medica": Sea clam powder is the powder of clams in the sea, to be distinguished from clam powder and mussel powder in rivers and lakes. In recent times, only clam powder has been used as medicine, but many clams are also sold here. Generally speaking, clams, cockles, and oysters in the sea are salty and cold in nature, not very different from others, and have soft and dispersing functions, with slight differences but mostly similar. They are not like clams in rivers and lakes, which are not soaked in salt water, but can only clear away heat and dampness.

From the above explanation, we have some understanding of the effects and functions of clam powder. If there are any symptoms of discomfort in the body, you can use Chinese medicine to regulate it. Chinese medicine has a long history of treating diseases, so you can eat it with confidence.