Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin: A Classic Formula for Treating Damp-Cold Urinary Issues
Health Lab- May 22
- 4 min read
Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin, also known as Bi Xie Fen Qing San, comes from Yang Shi Jia Cang Fang (Yang’s Family Treasury of Formulas), a time-honored Chinese medicine text. This formula is made of equal parts Bi Xie, Yi Zhi Ren, Shi Chang Pu, and Wu Yao, decocted in water with a pinch of salt.
Its main functions are to warm the kidneys, drain dampness, and clarify turbidity, treating conditions like creamy or cloudy urine (gao lin or bai zhuo) due to cold-dampness in the lower body. Symptoms include frequent, cloudy urination that looks like rice water or thick paste, a pale tongue with white coating, and a deep pulse.
Formula Explanation of Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin
Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin’s herbs are organized according to the Chinese medicine principle of “monarch, minister, assistant, and envoy”:
Monarch Herb: Bi Xie. Bi Xie is the main herb, with warming, dampness-draining, and wind-dispelling properties. It warms kidney yang, clears cold-dampness from the lower body, and relieves frequent, cloudy urination.
Supporting Herbs: Yi Zhi Ren, Wu Yao. Yi Zhi Ren warms the kidneys, boosts yang, secures essence, and reduces urination frequency, enhancing Bi Xie’s warming effects. Wu Yao moves qi, relieves pain, warms the kidneys, and disperses cold, further helping Bi Xie clear cold-dampness and ease urinary symptoms.
Assistant Herb: Shi Chang Pu. Pungent, warm, and aromatic, Shi Chang Pu opens the orifices, clears the mind, drains dampness, and resolves phlegm. It supports Bi Xie in removing damp turbidity and improves mental clarity affected by dampness.
Envoy Herb: Gan Cao. Gan Cao harmonizes the formula, boosts spleen qi, and ensures the warming and draining actions are gentle and balanced.
Pathogenesis Analysis of Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin
Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin targets conditions caused by cold-dampness in the lower body and untransformed damp turbidity.
Cold weakens kidney yang, impairing its ability to transform qi, store essence, and regulate the bladder.
This leads to frequent, cloudy urine resembling rice water or thick paste. Insufficient kidney yang fails to warm and secure, causing internal damp turbidity to worsen urinary frequency and cloudiness.
Effects of Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin
Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin works by warming the kidneys, draining dampness, and clarifying turbidity to relieve symptoms of cold-dampness in the lower body.
Bi Xie warms kidney yang and clears cold-dampness, addressing frequent and cloudy urination. Yi Zhi Ren and Wu Yao enhance this by warming the kidneys, securing essence, moving qi, and dispersing cold. Shi Chang Pu clears damp turbidity and restores mental clarity, aiding in normalizing urination.
Clarifying Turbidity: Beyond warming, Bi Xie drains dampness to “separate the clear from the turbid,” boosting stomach function to clear damp turbidity.
This allows clear yang to rise and turbid yin to descend, restoring normal urination. Shi Chang Pu further supports this by clearing phlegm and opening the orifices, improving symptoms of damp-blocked clarity.
Indications and Effects of Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin
Main Effects: Warms the kidneys, drains dampness, and clarifies turbidity.The formula boosts kidney yang to enhance qi transformation, draining dampness to relieve frequent, cloudy urine resembling rice water or paste.
Bi Xie clears cold-dampness, while Yi Zhi Ren and Wu Yao warm the kidneys and reduce urination frequency. Shi Chang Pu clears dampness and restores clarity.
Indications: Creamy or cloudy urine (gao lin or bai zhuo) due to cold-dampness in the lower body, with frequent, cloudy urination, pale tongue with white coating, and a deep pulse.
Modern Applications
In modern medicine, Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin is widely used for conditions like chyluria (milky urine), chronic prostatitis, chronic pyelonephritis, chronic nephritis, and chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, when linked to cold-dampness and turbid dampness in the lower body.
Research shows it effectively relieves cloudy, frequent urination by warming the kidneys and clarifying turbidity.
Precautions
When using Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin, consider the following:
Pattern Differentiation: This formula is for cold-damp creamy or cloudy urine. Confirm the patient’s symptoms and constitution with a Chinese medicine practitioner to ensure suitability.
Adjustments: Tailor the formula to symptoms. For severe cloudy urine, increase Bi Xie to enhance dampness drainage. For frequent urination, increase Yi Zhi Ren to strengthen essence retention.
Contraindications: Avoid in cases of damp-heat cloudy urine, as the formula is specific to cold-damp patterns.
Special Populations: Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, children, and the elderly should use it under professional guidance for safety.
Conclusion
Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin, a historic formula from Yang Shi Jia Cang Fang, is a trusted remedy for creamy or cloudy urine caused by cold-dampness in the lower body. Its unique blend and proven effectiveness make it a cornerstone in Chinese medicine.
By warming the kidneys, draining dampness, and clarifying turbidity, it relieves urinary symptoms and improves well-being. Understanding its uses and precautions ensures optimal results, blending traditional wisdom with modern care.
Chinese Name | 萆薢分清散 |
Phonetic | Bi Xie Fen Qing San |
English Name | Hypoglaucae Root Turbidity-Clearing Powder |
Classification | Dampclearing formulas |
Source | 《Secret Formulas of the Yang Family》Yang Shi Jia Cang Fang《楊氏家藏方》 |
Combination | Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus (Yi Zhi Ren) 9g, Dioscoreae Hypoglaucae Rhizoma (Bi Xie) 9g, Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (Shi Chang Pu) 9g, Linderae Radix (Wu Yao) 9g |
Method | Prepare as a decoction and add some salt to it. |
Action | Warms the kidney and drains dampness, raises the clear and removes turbidity. |
Indication | Bi Xie Fen Qing San is indicated for chylous strangury and gonorrhea due to deficiency-cold of the lower jiao. The symptoms are frequent turbid urination that is white like rice-washed water and mushy or creamy. The tongue is pale with a white coating, and the pulse is deep. |
Pathogenesis | This pattern is caused by deficiency-cold of the lower jiao leading to stagnation of turbid dampness. Deficiency-cold of the lower jiao leads to a disorder of qi transformation. As a result, the kidney fails to store and the bladder restricts the urine. This condition is marked by frequent urination, turbid urine, white urine, and urine like mush and cream. The therapeutic methods are to warm the lower jiao, drain dampness, and remove turbidity. |
Application | 1. Essential pattern differentiation Bi Xie Fen Qing San is a frequently used formula to treat chylous strangury or gonorrhea due to deficiency-cold of the lower jiao. This clinical pattern is marked by frequent and turbid urination, pale tongue and white coating, deep pulse. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of deficiency-cold of the lower jiao and turbid dampness: chyluria, chronic prostatitis, chronic pyelonephritis, chronic nephritis and chronic pelvic inflammation. 3. Cautions and contraindications It is not applicable for patients with damp-heat gonorrhea. |
Additonal formulae | Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin (Hypoglaucae Root Turbidity-Clearing Beverage 萆解分清飲) [Source]《Medical Revelations》Yi Xue Xin Wu《醫學心悟》 [Ingredients] Bi xie 2 qian (6g), huang bai (dry-fried) 5 fen (2g), shi chang pu 5 fen (2g), fu ling 1 qian (3g), bai zhu 1 qian (3g), lian zi xin 7 fen (2g), dan shen 1.5 qian (4.5g), che qian zi 1.5 qian (4.5g) [Preparation and Administration] Prepare it as a decoction. [Actions] Clears heat and drains dampness, raises the clear and removes turbidity. [Applicable Patterns] Damp-heat gonorrhea. Symptoms include: turbid urine, dripping urination, and a yellow and greasy coating. |
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