Properties: Pungent, cool, toxic

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Heart, Liver, Spleen and Lung

1. Eliminates Dampness, resolves Toxicity, disperses abdominal masses, promotes urnation, kills Parasites and alleviates pain
   Obstinate sores, scrofula, scabies, furuncles and carbuncles on the back
   Abdominal masses, oedema, tympanites
   Infantile malnutrition, bloating or tympanites
2. Opens the Orifices
   Chronic tracheitis

Suggested Daily Dosage: Decoct a single toad in water for oral consumption, or pounded into powder and applied topically.

Cautions: It is contraindicated in cases of exterior heat.

Notes:

Shen Yuan (1786) recorded in his Collections of Strange Conditions a case of a man who had a sore on his foot that was dormant in winter but putrefied in summer. A Daoist diagnosed it as being from crossing paths with a snake who left drops that grew into baby snakes inside the sore and recommended that he pound a live toad and apply it to the sore. After doing this three times a day for three days, a small snake came out of the sore which he removed with tweezers and the sore healed (Wilcox, 2024). This may be a reference to Chan Chu for Chong 蟲 disorders, which is often translated as "parasites" today but more accurately means "insects" and is a part of the character for Gu 蠱. Gu often present as strange diseases which are unresponsive to normal treatments and stories around them often involve snakes and insects with many of the herbs used to treat them are described as "snake killing herbs."