Earthworms, also known as earthworms, are a traditional Chinese medicine with multiple functions. Its main functions can be summarized as follows:
1. Clearing heat and calming down: Earthworms have a salty and cold taste, which can clear heat and calm down the body. It is commonly used to treat symptoms such as delirium, spasms, convulsions, infantile convulsions, epilepsy, and madness caused by high fever. Earthworms can clear the heat in the blood, cool the liver and calm the nerves, calm the wind and stop spasms. They are commonly used drugs for treating these diseases.
2. Tongluo: Earthworms are good at wandering and are skilled at passing through meridians. It is commonly used to treat symptoms such as qi deficiency and blood stasis, hemiplegia, limb numbness, joint pain, etc. Due to its cold nature, it is particularly suitable for the treatment of joint redness, swelling, heat pain, and difficulty in flexion and extension due to thermal obstruction. Dilong can also be combined with other drugs such as Huangqi, Danggui, etc., to treat symptoms such as hemiplegia and mouth eye deviation caused by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular sequelae.
3. Relieve asthma: Earthworms return to the lung meridian and can clear lung heat and relieve wheezing. It is commonly used to treat symptoms such as persistent wheezing and hoarseness in the throat caused by pathogenic heat obstructing the lungs and lung dysfunction. Dilong can clear lung heat, relieve asthma and cough, and is a good medicine for treating lung heat type bronchial asthma.
4. Diuretics: Earthworms are salty and cold, and can clear heat and promote diuresis by promoting diuresis. It is commonly used to treat symptoms such as hot bladder, difficulty urinating, or urinary obstruction. Earthworms can be used alone or in combination with medicines such as Plantago asiatica and Houttuynia cordata to enhance therapeutic effects.
5. Other functions: Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Lumbricus also has various effects such as thrombolysis, anticoagulation, antiarrhythmic, blood pressure lowering, antipyretic, anticancer, antibacterial, sedative, etc. Earthworms can also be used to treat acute symptoms such as mumps, burns, ulcers, etc.
Although earthworms have various functions, their medicinal properties are salty and cold, which can easily damage the spleen and stomach. People with spleen and stomach deficiency and cold, as well as those with chronic gastritis, chronic hepatitis, and those who eat less and are prone to vomiting, should use it with caution or avoid it. Meanwhile, pregnant women should also use earthworms with caution to avoid adverse effects on the fetus. When using earthworms, it is necessary to strictly follow medical advice to ensure safety and effectiveness.
Dilong is a traditional Chinese medicine with various effects such as clearing heat, calming the meridians, relieving asthma, and diuresis, widely used in clinical treatment. However, attention should be paid to its medicinal properties and contraindications when using it to ensure medication safety.