‘Drive out Stasis in the Mansion of Blood’
Source: Corrections of Errors among Physicians (Yi Lin Gai Cuo, 1830)

Keywords
trauma, chronic fixed pain, chronic depression

Ingredients
Paeonia rubra (Chi Shao, red peony)
Rehmannia glutinosa (Sheng Di, raw rehmannia)
Prunus persica (Tao Ren, peach seed)
Carthamus tinctorius (Hong Hua, carthamus)
Angelica sinensis (Dang Gui)
Ligusticum walichii (Chuan Xiong, ligusticum)
Bupleurum chinense (Chai Hu, bupleurum)
Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Gan Cao, liquorice)
Citrus aurantium (Zhi Ke, aurantium)
Achyranthes bidentata (Niu Xi, achyranthes)
Platycodon grandiflorum (Jie Geng, platycodon)

Major therapeutic action
Invigorates the circulation of energy and Blood, eliminates bruising and fixed stabbing pain (especially from the head and upper body).

Indications
*  One of the most useful and broad-spectrum blood circulators, incorporating significant energy moving capacity as well. Excellent for chronic patterns of symptoms of a feeling of distension, frequent sighing, and purplish tongue that are complicated by symptoms of fixed stabbing pain, and menstruation with dark blood and clots.
*  All bruising and pain of a fixed and stabbing nature patterns of the upper body, especially the head, including post-concussion or head trauma syndrome, facial pain (including localised migraine headaches
and trigeminal neuralgia), post herpetic neuralgia, chest pain, hypochondriac pain and other chronic pain syndromes.
*  Gynaecological disorders: dysmenorrhoea, endometriosis, painful fibroids and ovarian cysts, infertility.
*  Trauma: both physical and severe (or unresolved) emotional trauma, bruising, slow healing wounds or broken bones.
*  Circulatory disorders: peripheral vascular insufficiency, varicose veins, cerebrovascular insufficiency, Raynaud’s syndrome, and Buerger’s disease.
*  Chronic depression, extreme mood swings.
*  Chronic recalcitrant insomnia.

Key symptoms for use
*  tongue is purplish or has purple or brown spots, or dark and distended sublingual veins (although not necessarily in acute cases)
*  fixed or recurrent pain that is localised; the patient can usually point a finger at the site of the pain
*  in acute cases, a history of trauma (either physical or severe emotional)

Cautions and contraindications
Caution in patients taking anti-coagulant therapy
Some women being treated for menstrual problems will experience heavier (and possibly more painful) periods once or twice as the stagnation is moved and should be encouraged to persist for several cycles.
Contraindicated during pregnancy, and in patients with bleeding disorders or menorrhagia.