Purpura in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Purpura is a relatively common symptom and also a disease that can be treated in a variety of ways. For example, in traditional Chinese medicine, there are many treatments for purpura. Of course, the most important thing in Chinese medicine is to treat the disease based on syndrome differentiation. Different prescriptions and medicines are needed to treat diseases with different symptoms. So, what are the methods of traditional Chinese medicine for diagnosis and treatment of purpura? More on this below!

1. Wind-heat attack

Main symptoms: skin purpura, fever, aversion to wind, dry throat and sore throat.

Prescription: Yinqiao Powder plus or minus

10 grams of honeysuckle, 10 grams of forsythia, 10 grams of saposhnikovia, 10 grams of mint, 10 grams of platycodon, 10 grams of burdock, 10 grams of schizonepeta charcoal, 20 grams of isatis root, 20 grams of agrimony, 15 grams of pollen charcoal, and 10 grams of lithospermum.

The formula uses honeysuckle and forsythia suspensa in its pungent and cool properties to expel pathogens and clear heat; mint, saposhnikovia divaricata, and schizonepeta charcoal to disperse superficial pathogens and expel them; isatis root to clear away heat and toxicity; herbaceous agrimony, pollen charcoal, and schizonepeta charcoal to astringe and stop bleeding; and lithospermum officinale is cold in nature, clears heat and stops bleeding. The combination of these medicines has the effects of dispelling wind and heat, cooling blood and stopping bleeding.

This type is more common in acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Patients often have wind-heat symptoms before the onset of obvious bleeding symptoms. Shuanghuanglian injection can be used at the same time. The prognosis of this disease is good if it is treated actively. If it is not treated properly, heat can easily enter the blood. Therefore, clearing away heat and resolving symptoms are the key to the treatment of this type.

2. Heat-prone blood type

Main symptoms: skin purpura, fever, thirst, constipation, and yellow urine.

Treatment principle: clear away heat and detoxify, cool blood and stop bleeding.

Prescription: Rhinoceros Horn and Rehmannia Decoction with added ingredients.

30 grams of buffalo horn (fried first) or 1 gram of antelope horn powder (taken with water), 30 grams of raw rehmannia, 15 grams of moutan bark, 10 grams of white peony root, 30 grams of honeysuckle, 30 grams of dandelion, 6 grams of raw japonica, 2 grams of Panax notoginseng powder (taken with water), etc.

The formula uses buffalo horn or antelope horn powder to clear the blood and cool the camp, relieve heat and detoxify; the raw rehmannia cools the blood and relieves the camp, and can also nourish the yin damaged by the heat evil, and can stop bleeding; the white peony root nourishes the yin and harmonizes the camp; the moutan bark clears heat and cools the blood, and can also activate blood circulation and disperse blood stasis; the honeysuckle and dandelion clear heat and detoxify, expel evil and expel it; the rhubarb clears heat, relieves fire and draws heat downward; the Panax notoginseng powder stops bleeding without leaving blood stasis. Add or subtract: For epistaxis, add Radix Scutellariae, Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae, Radix Daizheshi to clear lung heat and guide blood downward; for gingival bleeding, add Gypsum Fibrosum, Rhizoma Coptidis, Rhizoma Anemarrhenae to clear stomach heat; for blood in stool, add Fructus Sophorae Fructus and Radix Sanguisorbae; for hematuria, add Radix Thistle and Radix Ophiopogonis to clear heat, promote diuresis and stop bleeding;

This syndrome is mostly caused by exogenous pathogenic heat that triggers real fire. The key points of clinical diagnosis are that excessive fire moves blood, burns blood vessels, and causes various bleeding. Therefore, the prescription selection focuses on clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding.

3. Liver and gallbladder fire

Main symptoms: Purpura of the skin, accompanied by alternating chills and fever, bitter taste in the mouth, dry throat, and yellow urine.

Treatment principle: Soothe the liver and clear away heat, cool the blood and stop bleeding.

Prescription: Our hospital’s own version of Chaihu Muze decoction with modifications.

10 grams of Bupleurum, 12 grams of Scutellaria, 10 grams of Equisetum, 15 grams of Artemisia annua, 15 grams of Rubia cordifolia, 20 grams of Agrimoniae, 15 grams of Verbena, 30 grams of Imperata rhizome, 10 grams of Gentiana, and 6 grams of Licorice.

The prescription uses Bupleurum to soothe the liver and clear heat, harmonize the Shaoyang meridian, Scutellaria baicalensis and Gentiana scabra clear the liver and relieve fire; Equisetum arvense and Artemisia annua enter the liver and gallbladder meridians, and together with Bupleurum chinense they have the effect of soothing wind and clearing heat; Rubia cordifolia and Agrimony vine can stop bleeding; Verbena officinalis can clear heat and detoxify, promote blood circulation and relieve blood stasis; Imperata root can promote diuresis and clear heat, cool blood and stop bleeding, and make the heat evil come out of the lower burner. The combination of these medicines has the effect of soothing the liver and clearing heat, cooling blood and stopping bleeding; if liver fire attacks the stomach, causing irritability and nausea, Pinellia ternata can be added to harmonize the stomach and reduce reflux.