Earthworm is the dried body of various species of earthworms. They are captured in summer and autumn, then suffocated with plant ash, cleaned of the ash, and dried in the sun. Alternatively, they are cut open, washed with warm water to remove soil, and dried for medicinal use, hence also known asCleaned EarthwormNowadays, it is mostly artificially bred. It is often used raw or fresh.
I. Earthworm's Efficacy:
Earthworm tastes salty, cold. It belongs to the liver, spleen, and bladder meridians. Its effects canClearing heat and calming wind, unblocking collaterals and relieving pain, calming asthma and promoting diuresis。
Commonly used inHigh fever with delirium, epilepsy and convulsions, joint pain and impediment, numbness of the limbs, hemiplegia, cough and panting due to lung heat, scanty urine and edema, and hypertensiontreatment of conditions such as
Summary of Famous Works by Renowned Authors:
Bie Lu: "Treating cold damage with hidden heat, mania and delirium, abdominal distension, jaundice."
"Bencao Shiyi": "Treats high fever in warm diseases, delirium, manages various epidemic fevers, and childhood febrile diseases with epilepsy."
"Compendium of Materia Medica": "Its nature is cold and descending; being cold, it can relieve various heat-related ailments; descending, it can promote urination, treat foot ailments, and unblock the meridians."
"Depei Bencao": "It can guide various medicines directly to the affected area, dispel wind-dampness and phlegm accumulation, treat falls and injuries, expel parasitic masses, and break up blood stasis."
"Compendium of Materia Medica of Southern Yunnan": "Dispels wind. Treats infantile convulsions and fright wind, deviation of the mouth and eyes, strengthens tendons, treats flaccidity and weakness."
Ben Cao Bei Yao: "Its taste and nature are salty and cold, thus it can clear heat. Descending, it can promote urination. It treats febrile diseases with high fever and delirious speech, abdominal distension and jaundice, kidney wind and beriberi."
II. Compatibility and Application of Earthworm:
1. Used for conditions such as high fever, convulsions, and seizures. Earthworm can both calm wind and stop convulsions, and is also good at clearing heat. It can be used alone or in combination with other herbs. For treating manic epilepsy, fresh earthworm can be used, dissolved in salt water and taken orally; for those with strong constitution, it can be combined in formulas that calm the liver and reduce fire to enhance efficacy.
If fresh earthworms are mixed with white sugar to dissolve in water and taken orally, they can be used to treat manic-type schizophrenia; if applied externally, they can also treat mumps, chronic lower limb ulcers, burns, and other conditions, all with therapeutic effects.
If treating convulsions, grind earthworms into a paste, mix with cinnabar powder, and form into pills for consumption.
If treating high fever, convulsions, and seizures, it is often combined with heat-clearing and wind-extinguishing herbs such as Uncaria, Bombyx Batryticatus, and Paris polyphylla.
2. For phlegm-heat dyspnea. Earthworm can clear heat and relieve asthma, especially effective for bronchial asthma of the lung-heat type. It can be used alone or often combined with herbs such as ephedra, bitter apricot kernel, and gypsum.
For treating asthma, earthworm can be combined with cuttlebone and tabasheer, ground into powder for oral administration. When combined with medicines that replenish qi, strengthen the foundation, moisten the lungs, and resolve phlegm, the therapeutic effect is remarkable.
Earthworm combined with licorice root or lepidium seed, ground into powder in equal parts and taken, can alleviate asthma attacks. Use licorice root for those with weak constitution, and lepidium seed for those with excess lung qi.
For the treatment of chronic bronchial asthma, especially when the patient cannot lie flat, earthworm can be combined with human placenta and raw licorice. For heat-type asthma, clam shell can be added; for cold-type asthma, deer antler can be added; for excessive phlegm, Sichuan fritillary bulb can be added. Grind these ingredients into a fine powder, which can be filled into capsules for oral administration. A course of treatment lasts for six months. This method is also relatively effective for childhood asthma before the developmental stage.
3. For heat impediment, with red, swollen, and painful joints, difficulty in flexion and extension, and other such patterns. Earthworm is cold in nature and clears heat, and is also skilled at freeing and benefiting the channels and network vessels. To treat wind-damp-heat impediment, it is often combined with Qinjiao (Large-leaf Gentian Root), Sangzhi (Mulberry Twig), Rendongteng (Honeysuckle Stem), Luoshiteng (Trachelospermum Stem), Chishao (Red Peony Root), and other herbs that eliminate damp-heat and free the channels and network vessels. For treating cold-damp impediment pain with difficulty in flexion and extension of the limbs, it is often combined with Chuanwu (Sichuan Aconite Main Root), Caowu (Kusnezoff Monkshood Root), Nanxing (Arisaema with Bile), and others, namelyXiaohuoluo Dan。
If treating hemiplegia, facial deviation, and other conditions caused by qi stagnation and blood stasis, and poor meridian circulation, it is often combined with Astragalus, Angelica, Chuanxiong, Safflower, Peach Kernel, Red Peony Root, etc., namelyBu Yang Huan Wu Tang。
4. For heat accumulation in the bladder, dysuria, or urinary retention, earthworm has the effect of clearing heat and promoting diuresis. To treat heat accumulation in the bladder and dysuria, it is often combined with plantain seed and akebia stem.
For treating chronic nephritis edema, earthworm is most suitable to be used in combination with astragalus. The combination of these two herbs can tonify qi, activate blood stasis, promote diuresis, reduce swelling, lower blood pressure, and facilitate the recovery of renal function.
5. Other Applications.
Earthworm can also be used to treat hypertension of liver-yang hyperactivity type, and when combined with formulas like Tianma Gouteng Decoction, it can enhance the therapeutic effect.
It can also be used for impotence and premature ejaculation. For treating impotence, it is often combined with litchi seed to enhance its efficacy in restoring erectile function. For treating premature ejaculation, it can be mashed with leek juice and taken with warm wine.
Gecko combined with licorice can also treat urticaria.
III. Usage and Dosage of Earthworm:
Earthworm is often used in decoctions, can also be made into pills or powders, and can be used fresh or externally. The usual dosage in decoctions ranges from a few grams to over ten grams; for external use, apply an appropriate amount.
Wang Ang said: "The white-necked ones are old earthworms. They treat high fever, pound them to extract juice, and take with well water. For medicinal use, either sun-dry and grind into powder, or dissolve with salt into water, or lightly roast, or burn to ashes, each according to the specific formula."
IV. Application Notes for Earthworm:
Earthworm is cold in nature, soDeficiency of Yang Qi, weakness of the spleen and stomach, kidney deficiency with panting, and blood deficiency failing to nourish the sinews and vesselsContraindicated.
"Ben Jing Jing Shu": "It should not be used for febrile diseases without Yangming excess heat and mania; it is not suitable for warm diseases without high fever or for those with inherently weak spleen and stomach; it is contraindicated for jaundice caused by excessive fatigue, abdominal distension due to spleen and kidney deficiency, and consumptive diseases resulting from yin deficiency."
