Chai Hu Type  柴胡

Chai hu is the go-to herb for alternating chills and fever, especially accompanied by chest stuffiness, a wiry pulse, purple tongue and irritability.

The Ben Cao Zheng Yi (Rectification of the Meaning of Materia Medica) states that Chai Hu is an exterior-resolving medicinal; Ben Jing Feng Yuan (Encountering the Sources of the Classic of Materia Medica) says that it is a foot Shao Yang Gallbladder herb; Yi Xue Qi Yuan (Origins of medicine) says that it is the herb that enters the Shao Yang & Jue Yin channels; and Beng Cao Jing Bai Zhong Lu (One Hundred Records of the Classics of Materia Medica, says that it is an herb for the stomach and intestines.

Given the diversity of Chai Hu, we must pay close attention to the major presentations illustrated above.

Chest and Hypochondriac Fullness

This is a ‘must-see’ sign for the ‘Chai Hu’ presentation. It is a feeling in the chest and hypochondria of distension and pain, distention and fullness, firm fullness, or tenderness when palpated; for women, swollen and painful breasts or nodules in the breasts; or what in modern medicine is referred to as biliary colic and intercostal neuralgia.

Alternating Chills and Fever

In addition to changes in measurable body temperature, this also includes a subjective sense of alternating cold and heat on the part of the patient where at times they have a real aversion to wind and feel cold, while at other times they feel hot and irritable. Also, the upper part of the body could be feverish, while there is an aversion to cold in the lower body. Or it might be that one side of the body is hot and the other part cold. Likewise (as in Si Ni San indication) there is a hot chest with cold hands. In all, the patient will be very sensitive to temperature changes.

Chai Hu Zone

What we refer to as the ‘Chai Hu Zone’ here is majorly where we see the areas traversed by the Shao Yang channel and the Liver channel. When these areas manifest with distending pain, feel achy, have unusual sensations, or lumps, one can usually consider the possibility of a Chai Hu presentation, or any of the various Chai Hu formulas. 

Chai Hu Person

The overall impression of the patient is generally medium to slightly thin physique with a complexion that is dark yellow, greenish yellow, or greenish pale, and lacking lustre (an external manifestation of qi and blood stagnation). The skin tends to be relatively dry, and the muscle tone is firm. The tongue characteristically looks tough and firm, dark and with purple spots; the tongue body is neither pale nor flabby; and the coating is either normal or a little dry, the pulse is generally wiry or thin.

Acupuncture combined with lifestyle, herbal medicine and diet changes can offer treatment for various conditions including Cystitis/UTI, Restless Leg Syndrome, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Male Infertility,  Prostadynia, asthma, acne, hay fever, sinusitis, weight loss, pelvic pain, rectal pain, female infertility, morning sickness, period pain, general pain and many more.