What are the effects and functions of the traditional Chinese medicine turtle shell?

Turtles have hard shells that cannot be damaged even if they are hit by stones. This is why turtles will retract their heads and limbs into their shells when they are afraid, because the shell has a protective function. In fact, don’t underestimate this turtle shell. In clinical practice, it is a precious Chinese medicinal material, also known as turtle shell. So, what are the effects and functions of Chinese medicine tortoise shell?

Main ingredients: animal gelatin, fat, calcium and phosphorus.

Pharmacological effects: Antipyretic, sedative, strengthening bones and muscles, cooling blood and congestion, which may be related to the effect of calcium it contains.

Preparation: Use raw or stir-fry and quench in yellow vinegar.

Nature and flavor: sweet, salty, cold.

Meridians: Enters the heart, liver, and kidney meridians.

Function: Nourishes Yin and suppresses Yang, benefits the kidneys and strengthens bones, nourishes blood and replenishes the heart, and reduces deficiency fever.

Indications: Kidney yin deficiency, bone steaming and fatigue fever, weakness of waist and knees, heart deficiency and forgetfulness, spermatorrhea, metrorrhagia and leukorrhea, forehead constriction in children, long-term cough, long-term dysentery, long-term malaria, etc.

Clinical application: used to nourish yin. It is suitable for all symptoms of blood deficiency and yin deficiency, especially bone steaming, fatigue fever, spermatorrhea, metrorrhagia, chronic nephritis, etc.

1. It can treat bone steaming during working hours, night sweats caused by tuberculosis, has an antipyretic effect, and can supplement calcium and other nutrients. Based on the principle of combining nourishing yin with reducing fire, it is often combined with heat-clearing drugs such as Phellodendron chinense, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, and Rehmannia glutinosa, such as Dabuyin Pills.

2. It is used to treat chronic nephritis of Yin deficiency type and seems to be helpful in removing urinary protein. It can be used with donkey-hide gelatin and Liuwei Dihuang Decoction.

3. To treat kidney weakness, turtle shell has a sedative effect and is often combined with Chinese jujube seed, magnet, salvia miltiorrhiza, rehmannia glutinosa, bupleurum, etc.

4. To treat chronic sores and ulcers that do not heal for a long time, it can be used with Sophora flavescens, Pulsatilla scabra, etc., or with Chinese yam glue boiled in water, namely Guiling glue.

In addition, turtle shell can treat metrorrhagia and leukorrhea caused by blood heat because of its effect of cooling blood and stopping bleeding. It can also treat weakness of muscles and bones in children. It can be combined with tiger bone, Achyranthes bidentata, Cynomorium songaricum, etc. to make a prescription such as Hu Qian Wan.