HUMORAL TREATMENT
Purging Mixed Humors
In Humoral Theory, Humoral Imbalances can appear alone, or in combination with other Humors, and this is noted in all Traditions. For example, a Bile-Phlegm disease is what would be called Pitta-Kapha in Ayurveda, Tan Re [Phlegm-Heat] in TCM and mKhris pa-Bad kan in Tibetan Medicine.
Likewise Feng Shi [Wind-Damp] is the term used in TCM for Arthritic and Rheumatic diseases which is closely akin to the Ayurvedic name for Arthritic diseases, Ama-Vata (Ama being toxic residue of undigested food [read “Damp” of TCM], and Vata being Wind). Likewise the same concept appears in Tibetan Medicine.
One of the ideas of Humoral medicine is that a simple disease (one where only one Humor is implicated) is usually easier to treat and tends to be more acute. A chronic, obstinate and difficult disease often has imbalance of all Humors, and this by its very nature, is difficult to treat. Because the use of Heating medicines to dry Phlegm will aggravate Bile and stir Wind [Qi], likewise cool medicine to quench Bile will increase Phlegm, and drying medicines to resolve Phlegm will stir Wind [Qi].
So the treatment of compounded Humoral disorders is therefore more complicated. For this reason, it is worth looking at how the Masters formulated compounds for mixed diseases.
Bile & Phlegm
1. Rosed Aloes
Aloes 4 oz.
Damask Rose juice 1 lb.
Soak Aloes in the Rose juice in the sun or a water-bath until the excess moisture has evaporated. Repeat three times with fresh Juice.
Dose: 1 scruple–½ dram
2. Pills of Mastic (Mesue)
Aloes 10 drams
Mastic 4 drams
Agaric 3 drams
Powder and form pills with Hydromel.
Dose: ½–1 dram
3. Pills of Three Solutive (Mesue)
Rhubarb
Agaric
Aloe equal parts
Powder and form pills with Syrup of Rose Solutive, or another suitable syrup. Dose: 1 scruple–½ dram
4. Assajaret Pills (Avicenna)
Aloe 2 oz.
Hiera Picra Galenii 1 oz.
Mastic
Yellow Myrobalan 4 drams
5. Pills to Purge Bile and Phlegm (Mesue)
Chebula
Yellow Myrobalan ½ dram
Rhubarb 1 dram
Traditionally formed into pills with Syrup of Stoechas.
Dose: 1 scruple–1 dram
6. Pills to Purge Bile and Phlegm (Mesue)
Rhubarb
Agaric
Yellow Myrobalan
Chebulic Myrobalan
Aloes washed 1 dram each
Dose: 1 scruple–1 dram
7. Electuary to Purge Bile and Phlegm
Turbith 40 drams
Violet 30 drams
Indian Salt
Licorice juice 7 drams ea.
Fennel seed
Aniseed
Mastic 5 drams ea.
Scammony 10 drams
Cassia Fistula 100 drams
Almond Oil 40 drams
Honey
Sugar 50 drams ea.
Heat Cassia with Honey, dissolve the Sugar and Oil, and add the rest in powder. Dose: 2–4 drams. (Syrian Book of Medicine)
8. Pills of Rhubarb and Agaric (Mesue)
10. Arabian Confect Purging Melancholy
Bile & Melancholy
1. Potion for Bile and Melancholy (Mesue)
Black Myrobalan
Yellow Myrobalan
Rhubarb 1 dram each
Rock Salt 1 scruple
Infuse in 6 oz. Goat Whey for 10 hours, strain, express and add Syrup of Fumitory 2 oz.
Phlegm & Melancholy
1. Infusion (Mesue)
Black Myrobalan
Chebulic Myrobalan 1 dram
Dodder of Thyme 2 drams
Infuse in 4 oz. Senna infusion for 10 hours.
2. Infusion 2 (Mesue)
Black Myrobalan
Chebulic Myrobalan 1 dram
Epithymum 2 drams
Black Hellebore 1 scruple
Infuse in 4 oz. Senna infusion for 10 hours; express, sweeten with sugar.
3. Potion (Mesue)
Chebula 5 drams
Raisins ½ oz.
Mix, infuse in 6 oz. Oxymel.
4. Pills (Mesue)
Black Myrobalan
Chebulic Myrobalan 1 dram each
Epithymum ½ dram
With squill juice, form pills.
5. Pills 2 (Mesue)
Black Myrobalan
Chebulic Myrobalan ½ dram each
Black Hellebore
Turbith ½ scruple each
Form pills with Squill juice.
6. Pills of Fumitory
Myrobalans, Chebulic
Yellow
Black
Scammony, prepared 5 drams each
Aloe 7 drams
Powder, and triturate with clarified Fumitory juice, and dry. Repeat three times, then powder and with Syrup of Fumitory, form pills. Dose: 1 scruple–1 dram
7. Pills
Turbith 1 mithqal (4.5 grams)
Hiera Picra 1 dirham (3.1 grams)
Stoechas 2 daniqs (1 gram)
Agaric ½ dirham (1.5 grams)
Scammony 1 ½ däniq (780 mg)
Ginger 1 daniq (520 mg)
Rose. 1 daniq (520 mg)
Bdellium 2 daniqs (1 gram)
8. Electuary to Purge Melancholy and Phlegm
Myrobalans, Black
Emblic
Belleric
Epithymum 10 drams ea.
Polypody
Stoechas
Turbith 5 drams ea.
Agaric 3 drams
Lapis Lazuli, washed
Azurite, washed 2 scruples ea.
Scammony, prepared 3 drams
Mix with 150 drams of clarified Honey to form an Electuary. Dose: 2 drams (Syrian Book of Medicine)
Pituitous and Burnt Humors
Pituitous means mucus, but was generally used to denote thinner fluid than Phlegm, being analogous to Damp.
Infusion for Pituitous and Burnt Humors (Mesue)
Infusion for Pituitous and Burnt Humors with Hellebore
Pills for Pituitous and Burnt Humors (Mesue)
Pills for Pituitous and Burnt Humors with Hellebore (Mesue)
Complex and Mixed Humors
1. Infusion (Mesue)
Myrobalans, Yellow
Chebulic
Black 1 dram
Infuse in Whey, or Chicken broth; express and add in:
Rhubarb 1 dram
Senna 2 drams
2. Pills (Mesue)
Rhubarb
Myrobalans, Yellow
Chebulic
Black 1 dram
Polypody
Aloes washed
Agaric 2 scruples
Powder, with Syrup of Rose solutive, form pills.
3. Pills 2 (Mesue)
Agaric
Rhubarb 1 dram
Aloes washed 1 ½ drams
Myrobalans, Yellow
Chebulic
Black 2 scruples
Powder, with Rose juice, form a pill mass.
4. Imperial Pills
Aloes 2 oz.
Rhubarb 1½ drams
Agaric
Senna leaf 1 oz. each
Cinnamon 3 drams
Ginger 2 drams
Nutmeg
Clove
Indian Spikenard
Mastic 1 dram each
Powder and form Pills with Syrup of Violets.
Dose: 1 scruple–1, or 1½ drams
5. ‘Pills without which I would not be’
Aloes washed with
Rose juice 14 drams
Prepared Scammony 6 drams
The 5 Myrobalans
Rhubarb
Mastic
Senna
Wormwood
Rose
Violet
Troches of Agaric
Dodder of Thyme 1 dram each
Form pills with Fennel juice or Honey boiled with Fennel juice. Dose: 1 scruple–1 dram
9. Arabian Confect Purging Melancholy
10. Pills of 5 Myrobalans (Nicholas)
