This product is the exuviae of the cicada (Cryptotympana pustulata Fabricius) after molting. It is mainly produced in Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces. It is harvested in summer, cleaned of soil, and dried for use.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Sweet, cold. act on lung and liver channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Releasing the exterior with pungent-cool properties, promoting eruption, relieving itching, improving vision, dispersing nebula, and stopping spasms.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for wind-heat common cold, sore throat, and hoarseness. This herb is sweet in taste and cold in nature, clearing away heat. It is light and tends to rise, excelling in dispersing wind-heat from the lung meridian, ventilating the lung, and treating hoarseness. Therefore, it can be used to treat wind-heat common cold or the early stage of warm disease, with symptoms such as fever and headache. It is often combined with Mentha, Forsythia, Chrysanthemum Flower, etc. For treating wind-heat attacking upwards, causing sore throat and hoarseness, it is often used with Boat-Fruited Sterculia Seed, such as in the formula Hai Chan San.
2. Used for measles that fail to erupt, rubella, and cutaneous pruritus. This herb promotes dispersion and eruption, releasing the exterior with pungent-cool properties, promoting eruption, and relieving itching. It is used to treat wind-heat externally constrained, measles that fail to erupt, often combined with Mentha, Great Burdock Achene, Arnebia, etc., such as in the formula Promoting Eruption Decoction. For treating wind-dampness and heat combined, rubella, eczema, and cutaneous pruritus, it is often combined with Schizonepeta, Saposhnikovia Root, Sophora, etc., such as in the formula Wind-Dispersing Powder.
3. Used for red eye nebula and obstruction. This herb enters the liver meridian, excels in dispersing wind-heat from the liver meridian, and has the effect of improving vision and reducing nebula. Therefore, it can be used to treat wind-heat attacking upwards, causing red eye, swelling, pain, and nebula membrane covering the eye. It is often combined with Chrysanthemum Flower, Puncturevine Caltrop Fruit, Cassia Seed, etc., such as in the formula Cicada Slough and Chrysanthemum Flower Powder.
4. Used for convulsions, night crying, and tetanus. This herb is sweet and cold, capable of both releasing the exterior with pungent-cool properties and cooling the liver to extinguish wind and stop convulsions. Therefore, it can be used to treat infantile common cold with convulsions, fright epilepsy, and night crying. It can be ground into powder and taken with a decoction of Mentha and Uncaria, such as in the formula Zhi Xian San. For acute infantile convulsions, it can be combined with Cow-Bezoar, Coptis Rhizome, Stiff Silkworm, etc. For treating tetanus, mild cases can be treated by grinding this herb into powder and taking it with yellow wine. Severe cases can be treated by combining it with Gastrodia Tuber, Stiff Silkworm, scorpion, etc., such as in the formula Five Tigers Wind-Chasing Powder.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Bielu: "Treats infantile epilepsy."
2. Bencao Shiyi: "Removes blurred vision and nebula... treats infantile smallpox that does not emerge quickly."
3. Bencao Yanyi: "Treats head wind vertigo, skin wind-heat causing itching, tetanus, and boils and sores with swelling and toxicity, adult loss of voice, infantile lockjaw and celestial suspension, fright crying and night crying, swelling of the vulva."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct and take 3-10g, or grind into powder and use alone. For general conditions, a small dose is appropriate; for stopping spasms, a large dose is required.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

Bielu records "difficult childbirth for women," so pregnant women should use it with caution.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains a large amount of chitin, protein, amino acids, organic acids, etc. Cicada Slough has anticonvulsant effects, and its wine preparation can prolong the average survival time of experimental tetanus rabbits, alleviate the already formed tetanus convulsions in rabbits. Cicada Slough can counteract the convulsive death caused by central stimulants such as strychnine, cocaine, and nicotine in mice, with the anticonvulsant effect of the body being stronger than that of the head and feet. Cicada Slough can inhibit the spontaneous activity of mice, synergize with the anesthetic effect of sodium cyclobarbital to exhibit a sedative effect, and also has an antipyretic effect, with the antipyretic effect of the head and feet being stronger than that of the body.