Blue Earth Dragon, 250 tablets

Blue Earth Dragon is a modification of the well-known traditional formula Minor Blue Dragon Combination. The modification involves replacing the ma-huang and asarum with angelica, cnidium, citrus, and perilla, and adding the cooling and opening herbs chrysanthemum and earthworm. Citrus with pinellia strongly resolves excessive mucus; chrysanthemum helps reduce infection, and clear local heat; and earthworm is included to resolve severe congestion. The name Blue Dragon comes from Chinese mythology. This dragon of the East is responsible for generating clouds and making them produce rain, reflecting the syndrome the formula treats. The earthworm is known as dilong, or earth dragon. The addition of earthworm is intended to treat a condition of stagnant mucus, as often occurs with persistent allergies and sinus infections; stagnant dampness is a characteristic of the "earth" aspect in the Chinese five elements. This formula may be viewed as the combination of three prescriptions: Cinnamon Combination, which treats acute disorders affecting the surface; Citrus and Pinellia Combination, which treats watery sputum associated with a surface disorder. For chilly conditions in which sinus discharge is not a dominant symptom, one could consider Cinnamon 14; for sinus congestion that is obstinate but not watery, one could consider Platycodon 14; for phlegm disorders that involve the lungs more than the sinuses, one could consider Pinellia 16.