Drain damp herbs

19 herbs in the Shen Study library belong to the Drain damp category.

Drain damp herbs are mostly cool or cold and sweet, and most enter the Bladder channel.

Herb	Nature	Flavour	Channels	Main action
Fú Líng Poria	Neutral	Sweet, Bland	Heart, Spleen, Kidney	Promotes urination, leaches out Damp
Yì Yǐ Rén Job's tears	Cool	Sweet, Bland	Spleen, Stomach, Lung	Promotes urination, drains Damp-Heat
Zé Xiè Water plantain	Cold	Sweet, Bland	Kidney, Bladder	Promotes urination, drains Damp-Heat — Lower Jiao
Mù Tōng Akebia stem	Cold	Bitter	Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder	Promotes urination, clears Damp-Heat from Lower Jiao
Huá Shí Talc mineral	Cold	Sweet, Bland	Bladder, Lung, Stomach	Promotes urination, drains Damp-Heat — Lower Jiao
Chē Qián Zǐ Plantain seed	Cold	Sweet	Kidney, Bladder, Liver, Lung	Promotes urination, drains Damp-Heat
Qú Mài Fringed pink herb	Cold	Bitter	Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder	Promotes urination, drains Damp-Heat from Lower Jiao
Bì Xiè Rhizome dioscoreae	Neutral	Bitter	Kidney, Stomach	Resolves turbid Damp — turbid painful urinary dysfunction
Yīn Chén Hāo Capillary wormwood	Cool	Bitter, Acrid	Spleen, Stomach, Liver, Gallbladder	Clears Damp-Heat — primary herb for jaundice
Jīn Qián Cǎo Christina loosestrife herb	Cool	Sweet, Salty, Bland	Liver, Gallbladder, Kidney, Bladder	Promotes urination, expels stones (urinary and biliary)
Hǎi Jīn Shā Japanese climbing fern spore	Cold	Sweet, Bland	Bladder, Small Intestine	Promotes urination, expels stones
Zhū Líng Polyporus mushroom	Neutral	Sweet, Bland	Kidney, Bladder	Promotes urination, drains Damp — stronger diuretic than Fu Ling
Dēng Xīn Cǎo Common rush pith	Cool	Sweet, Bland	Heart, Lung, Small Intestine	Promotes urination, drains Heart Fire through Small Intestine
Tōng Cǎo Rice paper plant pith	Cool	Sweet, Bland	Lung, Stomach	Clears Heat, promotes urination
Biǎn Xù Knotgrass	Cool	Bitter	Bladder	Promotes urination, relieves painful urinary dysfunction
Shí Wéi Pyrrosia leaf	Cool	Sweet, Bitter	Lung, Bladder	Promotes urination, relieves painful urinary dysfunction — Heat, Blood and stone
Dōng Kuí Zǐ Mallow seed	Cool	Sweet, Astringent	Large Intestine, Small Intestine, Bladder	Promotes urination, relieves painful urinary dysfunction
Dì Fū Zǐ Kochia fruit	Cold	Acrid, Bitter	Kidney, Bladder	Clears Heat, drains Damp
Dōng Guā Zǐ Wax gourd seed	Cool	Sweet	Lung, Stomach, Large Intestine, Small Intestine	Clears Lung, transforms Phlegm

Other herb categories

• Release exterior (Cold)
• Release exterior (Heat)
• Clear heat
• Drain downward
• Warm interior
• Regulate qi
• Invigorate blood
• Resolve phlegm
• Tonify qi
• Tonify blood
• Tonify yin
• Tonify yang
• Calm shen
• Stabilise & bind
• Expel wind-damp
• Aromatic, transform damp
• Stop bleeding
• Relieve food stagnation
• Expel parasites
• Anchor Yang / extinguish Wind
• Open orifices
• Topical use