🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Refers to involuntary ejaculation during sleep due to dreams, or even without dreams, or while awake, known as spermatorrhea. The spermatorrhea described here is pathological: occurring more than twice weekly, sometimes even during wakefulness, accompanied by symptoms such as dizziness, mental fatigue, insomnia, and soreness in the knees and waist. It does not include cases mentioned in "Jingyue Quanshu·Spermatorrhea" where "a healthy young man, full of vitality, abstains from sex for long periods and experiences seminal emission—this is overflow due to fullness," which is physiological and usually asymptomatic. Commonly effective remedies for spermatorrhea are listed below. [Formula One] 1 piece of bitter gourd, 10–15 grams of lotus seed powder, 30 grams of rock sugar. Mash the bitter gourd into pulp, mix with lotus seed powder and rock sugar, crush evenly, consume once or divided into two doses. This formula clears heat and nourishes yin, consolidates essence, suitable for spermatorrhea caused by yin deficiency with fire excess. [Formula Two] 60 grams of walnut kernel, 150 grams of Chinese chives. Stir-fry with sesame oil until cooked, add salt, ginger, scallions, monosodium glutamate, etc., to taste, serve as a side dish. This formula warms the kidneys and consolidates essence, suitable for spermatorrhea due to kidney deficiency causing poor retention. [Formula Three] 30 grams each of lotus seed and Chinese yam, 15 grams of lotus seed, 9 grams of sour jujube seed, 3 grams of Codonopsis pilosula. Boil with appropriate water over low heat, drink the soup, then mix 15 grams of rock sugar into the residue and consume together daily. This formula strengthens the spleen, tonifies the kidney, and consolidates essence, suitable for spermatorrhea. [Formula Four] 3–5 grams of gardenia seed, 10 grams of lotus heart, 50–100 grams of rice. Grind gardenia seeds into fine powder, first boil rice and lotus heart, when the porridge is nearly ready, add the gardenia powder and briefly reheat, optionally add rock sugar. This formula clears heat, promotes diuresis, stops leakage, suitable for spermatorrhea due to internal damp-heat. [Formula Five] 20 grams of Rehmannia glutinosa (raw), 10 grams each of Asparagus root, Ophiopogon tuberose, Cornus fruit, 8 grams each of Codonopsis pilosula, Poria Sclerotium, Polygala root, 30 grams each of night-blooming cereus vine and oyster shell, 3 grams each of Coptis chinensis and Cinnamon Bark, 6 grams of licorice. Decoct in water, one dose per day, taken in the evening. This formula nourishes yin and reduces fire, harmonizes heart and kidney, suitable for spermatorrhea due to disharmony between heart and kidney. [Formula Six] 10 grams each of Smilax glabra, Poria, Plantago Seed, White Atractylodes, Mu Tong, Alisma, Calamus Rhizome, and Salvia miltiorrhiza, 6 grams of Phellodendron bark, 3 grams of lotus heart. Decoct in water, one dose per day, taken in the evening. This formula clears heat and promotes diuresis, separates clear from turbid, suitable for spermatorrhea due to downward flow of damp-heat. [Formula Seven] 6 grams each of Gardenia, Scutellaria, Gentiana, Mu Tong, 10 grams each of White Peony Root, Rehmannia glutinosa (raw), Red Peony Root, Gardenia, Schisandra Fruit, 6 grams each of Bupleurum and Toosendan Fruit, 6 grams of licorice. Decoct in water, one dose per day, divided into two doses. This formula soothes liver and resolves stagnation, clears phase fire, suitable for spermatorrhea due to excessive phase fire. [Formula Eight] 10 grams each of Chinese Yam, Codonopsis pilosula, Astragalus membranaceus, 8 grams each of Poria and Poria Sclerotium, 6 grams each of Polygala root and Citrus reticulata peel, 3 grams each of Sandalwood and licorice, 8 grams each of sour jujube seed, lotus stem, and Euryale Seed, 10 grams each of Dragon Bone and Oyster Shell. Decoct in water, one dose per day, divided into two doses. This formula regulates and supplements the spleen, suitable for spermatorrhea due to deficiency of heart and spleen qi. [Formula Nine] 7 grams of Cyperus rotundus, 10 grams of Euryale Seed, 4 grams of lotus stem, 8 grams of Schisandra Fruit, 10 grams each of calcined Dragon Bone, silver oyster shell, Golden Currant Fruit, Dodder Seed, and Psoralea corylifolia, 15 grams of Epimedium. Decoct in water, one dose per day, divided into two doses. This formula warms and tonifies kidney yang, suitable for spermatorrhea due to kidney qi instability. [Formula Ten] 30 grams each of Schisandra Fruit and Chicken Gizzard Membrane. Dry the herbs, grind into fine powder, take with warm water three times daily. This formula suits spermatorrhea due to yin deficiency with fire excess. [Formula Eleven] 1 pig kidney, 3 grams of Aconite powder. Cut open the pig kidney, remove membrane, mix in Aconite powder, wrap with moist paper, steam until cooked, eat on an empty stomach, followed by drinking one cup of wine. 3–5 courses can be effective. This formula suits spermatorrhea. [Formula Twelve] 60 grams of Alpinia oxyphylla, 45 grams of Wu Yao, 30 grams of Chinese Yam. Grind into powder, make pills the size of tung nuts, coat with rice flour, take 60 pills each time. This formula suits spermatorrhea. [Formula Thirteen] 1 liang (about 50 grams) of lotus seed, 2 liang (about 100 grams) each of rice and rock sugar. Place lotus seeds in a pot, add half a bowl of water, a small amount of alkali, bring to boil over high heat, repeatedly scrub with bamboo brush to remove red skin and inner core, soak in clean water overnight, mash into coarse rice-like particles. Wash rice, place in pot with lotus seed paste, cook until grains bloom, add rock sugar, simmer until soft and thick, forming porridge. Lotus seeds contain various nutrients and have functions of strengthening spleen, nourishing spirit, lightening body, and prolonging life. Suitable for lower back pain, spermatorrhea, red eyes, and diarrhea due to spleen deficiency. [Formula Fourteen] 150 grams of lotus seed, 30 grams of chicken gizzard membrane, appropriate amounts of flour and white sugar. Grind lotus seed and chicken gizzard membrane into fine powder, sieve for reserve. Place chicken gizzard membrane in a bowl, pour boiling water to soak, cool down, then add lotus seed, white sugar, and flour, knead into very thin pancakes, pan-fry until golden brown and eat. This formula strengthens spleen and consolidates kidney, promotes digestion and eliminates food accumulation. Suitable for spleen deficiency with food stagnation, indigestion, kidney deficiency causing enuresis and spermatorrhea. Originally from "Medical Reflections on Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine," used for "elderly people with qi deficiency unable to expel phlegm, leading to phlegm stagnation, chest tightness, pain under ribs; anyone with qi deficiency and phlegm excess benefits from this formula, also treating hernia." It is a prescription for spleen deficiency with food stagnation and kidney deficiency causing enuresis and spermatorrhea. Spleen deficiency leads to poor transformation and transportation, resulting in food stagnation; kidney deficiency causes weak control, leading to enuresis and spermatorrhea. Treatment should strengthen the spleen, consolidate the kidney, promote digestion, and eliminate food accumulation. The main ingredients are lotus seed and chicken gizzard membrane: lotus seed strengthens spleen and consolidates kidney, chicken gizzard membrane promotes digestion and eliminates food accumulation, prevents leakage and stops spermatorrhea. Combined, they enhance the effect of strengthening spleen, eliminating food accumulation, consolidating kidney, and stopping leakage. Flour and white sugar serve as auxiliary ingredients: flour combined with lotus seed strengthens heart and kidney, balancing heart-kidney interaction and harmonizing water-fire; white sugar strengthens spleen and stomach, enhancing the power of lotus seed and chicken gizzard membrane. Together, they form a formula that strengthens spleen and kidney, promotes digestion, and eliminates food accumulation. This formula combines tonification and elimination, especially suitable for elderly or children with weakness and food stagnation. In "Medical Reflections on Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine," removing lotus seed allows use for "children's malnutrition with abdominal distension, adults' tumors and masses." This formula is unsuitable for those with unresolved external pathogens, red urine, constipation, or yin deficiency with fire excess.[Formula Fifteen] 1 gram of Deer Antler Velvet, 3 grams of Toad Oil, 150 grams of chicken breast meat, 50 grams of pork fat, 5 grams of soaked magnolia flower, 10 grams of hot ham, 1 egg white, 10 grams of fresh mushrooms, 5 grams of spinach, appropriate amounts of cooking wine, refined salt, monosodium glutamate, Sichuan pepper water, sesame oil, and chicken broth. Soak the toad oil in a bowl until soft, remove seeds and black threads, wash clean with water. Remove tendons from chicken breast, cut pork fat into thin slices, pound both into fine paste using a knife back, mix with egg white and chicken broth, add a little refined salt, cooking wine, Sichuan pepper water, monosodium glutamate, finally mix in deer antler velvet and toad oil. Cut spinach, magnolia flower, ham, and fresh mushrooms into thin slices. Put chicken broth in a pot, bring to boil, slowly drop the deer antler velvet, toad oil, and chicken paste into the broth to form pearl-like lumps, then add ham, fresh mushrooms, spinach, and magnolia flower, simultaneously pour in remaining refined salt, Sichuan pepper water, monosodium glutamate, and cooking wine, skim off foam when boiling, add sesame oil, serve in a large bowl. This soup consists of two tonifying substances: deer antler velvet and toad oil, having effects of tonifying kidney, strengthening yang, enriching essence, and nourishing blood. Deer antler velvet, with sweet and salty taste, warm nature, strengthens vital energy, replenishes qi and blood, nourishes essence, and strengthens bones and tendons. Toad oil is a rare treasure for tonifying kidney and enriching essence, moistening lungs, and nourishing yin. Combined, they enhance overall bodily function, reduce muscle fatigue, promote metabolism, and possess effects of nourishing lungs, tonifying kidney, nourishing yin, and enriching blood. Suitable for conditions like kidney essence deficiency, chronic illness with weakness, impotence, spermatorrhea, coldness in waist and knees, deficient cold leukorrhea, dizziness due to essence deficiency, tinnitus, etc. Unsuitable for those with external pathogenic heat or yin deficiency with fire excess.[Formula Sixteen] 100 grams of pheasant meat, 9 grams of Cordyceps sinensis, appropriate amounts of ginger slices, scallion segments, ground black pepper, refined salt, and chicken broth. Clean the cordyceps by removing dust, rinse with warm water. After slaughtering the pheasant, remove feathers and internal organs, cut off feet and claws, wash thoroughly, blanch in boiling water briefly, then remove. Place part of the cordyceps inside the pheasant’s cavity, put it in a steamer basket, place the rest on top of the pheasant meat, add chicken broth, insert ginger slices, scallion segments, ground black pepper, and salt, steam until the pheasant meat is tender. Remove scallions and ginger, serve immediately. In "Supplement to Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," there is a poem stating: "Cordyceps, named rightly, transforms through natural processes, one substance combining animal and plant, its physical properties defy easy understanding." Cordyceps not only has a unique ecological feature but is also a precious tonic herb, ranking alongside deer antler velvet and ginseng. Qing dynasty scholar Wu Yiluo described in "Compendium of Medicinal Herbs" that it protects the lungs, benefits the kidneys, stops bleeding, and dissolves phlegm, relieving cough. "Pharmacological Properties" states it "preserves essence, enhances qi, specifically tonifies the vital gate." Clearly, its tonifying effects are powerful. Modern research shows Cordyceps contains abundant protein, Cordyceps fungus, cordycepic acid, and has bronchodilatory, sedative, and emetic effects. Pheasant meat has the function of tonifying the middle energizer and benefiting qi. When combined, Cordyceps’ tonifying effect permeates into the pheasant meat, enhancing their synergistic effect. Thus, this dish has strong lung and kidney tonifying effects. Suitable for patients with lung and kidney deficiency, frequent urination, shortness of breath, fatigue, impotence, spermatorrhea, and other conditions related to deficiency of the vital gate.[Formula Seventeen] 30 grams each of Astragalus membranaceus and Goji berries, 1 pigeon, appropriate amounts of cooking wine, refined salt, monosodium glutamate, ginger slices, chicken consomme, and chicken fat. Kill the pigeon, remove feathers, internal organs, cut off feet and claws, wash clean, blanch briefly in boiling water, then wash again and cut into pieces, place in a clay pot. Wash Astragalus and Goji berries, place in the pot. Add cooking wine, salt, monosodium glutamate, ginger slices, and chicken consomme to the pot, steam until the meat is tender, remove from steamer, discard ginger and Astragalus, drizzle with chicken fat before serving. This dish primarily uses Astragalus, Goji berries, and pigeon. Pigeon meat refers to young pigeon meat, tender and rich in nutrients, with functions of nourishing the kidneys, regulating menstruation, boosting qi, detoxifying, and dispelling wind. It is a highly nourishing food. Astragalus is a commonly used herbal medicine, with effects of strengthening the spleen and qi, consolidating the exterior, stopping sweating, raising yang, and promoting toxin expulsion. Modern studies confirm Astragalus has cardiotonic, diuretic, blood pressure-lowering, antibacterial, sweat-stopping, and vasodilatory effects. Goji berries are a potent tonic for nourishing the kidneys, boosting qi, generating fluids, enhancing yang, and strengthening bones and muscles. Combined, these three ingredients have effects of tonifying qi and yang, consolidating the exterior, stopping sweating, detoxifying, and dispelling wind. Suitable for those with weakened central qi, fatigue, spontaneous sweating due to exterior deficiency, and slow healing of ulcers and sores. It is also a common post-illness dietary supplement, beneficial for patients with impotence and spermatorrhea due to sexual nervous system dysfunction. Caution advised for those with unresolved exterior syndromes, dampness stagnation, or phlegm-fire conditions.[Formula Eighteen] 150 grams of soaked ginkgo nuts, 100 grams of rock sugar, 25 grams of starch, appropriate amount of alkali. Crack open ginkgo nuts, remove shells, place in a pot with water, add alkali, boil over high heat, remove skins and cores, transfer to a bowl, add water. Place the bowl in a steamer and steam until fully cooked, remove. In a pot, add water, ginkgo nuts, and rock sugar, bring to boil, skim off foam, thicken with starch slurry, briefly cook, then serve. This formula consolidates lung qi, calms asthma and cough, stops leukorrhea, and reduces urinary frequency. Used for asthma, phlegm cough, leukorrhea, turbid urine, spermatorrhea, frequent urination, etc.[Formula Nineteen] 200 grams of fresh shrimp meat, 10 grams each of ham, soaked dried mushrooms, cake, spinach hearts, fresh bamboo shoots, soaked wood ear mushrooms, 1 egg white, 10 grams of Shaoxing wine, 30 grams of starch, 3 grams of refined salt, 500 grams of lard (actual consumption 40 grams), 30 grams of clear broth. Wash shrimp meat, remove black veins, drain dry, mash into paste with a knife, add 1 gram of refined salt, egg white, and 30 grams of starch to form a paste, spread evenly on a porcelain plate coated with a little lard, about 2.5 cm thick, steam for 3 minutes, cool, then cut into strips 4.5 cm long and 0.25 mm wide. Cut ham, dried mushrooms, cake, spinach hearts, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms into thin strips. Mix 2 grams of refined salt with Shaoxing wine and clear broth to make sauce. Heat lard in a wok to medium temperature (fourth degree), add shrimp strips, when they float, remove and drain oil. Keep 20 grams of residual oil in the wok, add shrimp strips and all other ingredients, pour in prepared sauce, quickly toss, then serve. This formula tonifies the kidneys and strengthens yang. Can assist in treating kidney deficiency causing soreness in waist and knees, spermatorrhea, impotence, frequent urination, and insufficient milk after childbirth.[Formula Twenty] 50 grams of lotus seeds, 100 grams of rice. Remove skin and core from lotus seeds, grind into fine powder for reserve. Wash rice, place in a pot, add lotus seed powder and water, bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and cook until porridge forms. This formula strengthens the spleen, astringes the intestines, nourishes the kidney, and consolidates essence. Suitable for chronic diarrhea and dysentery due to spleen deficiency, spermatorrhea due to kidney deficiency, and turbid urine. Originally from "Discourse on Diet Therapy for Diseases," "Yinshan Zhengyao," and "The Dietary Guide of Suixi Ju," originally used for "strengthening the spleen and stomach, stopping spermatorrhea and diarrhea," "calming the mind, strengthening willpower, improving hearing and vision," "strengthening the spleen and kidney, remarkably effective," a commonly used formula for astringing the intestines and consolidating essence. Chronic diarrhea damages the spleen and stomach, impairing their transformation and transportation functions, leading to chronic diarrhea and dysentery; kidney deficiency results in loss of containment, leading to spermatorrhea. Treatment should strengthen the spleen and astringe the intestines, nourish the kidney and consolidate essence. The main ingredient is lotus seed, which strengthens the spleen, astrings the intestines, nourishes the kidney, and consolidates essence; rice serves as auxiliary, strengthening the spleen and stopping diarrhea to enhance the effect of lotus seed. Together, they form a formula that strengthens the spleen, astrings the intestines, nourishes the kidney, and consolidates essence. This formula has strong astringent and consolidating effects, best suited for deficiency-related diarrhea and dysentery, and spermatorrhea. Lotus seed also nourishes the heart and calms the spirit. Can also be used for restlessness of the heart spirit, frequent dreaming during sleep. Additionally, "A New Book on Elder Care" records "Lotus Seed Porridge Formula," using lotus seeds and glutinous rice to make porridge, used for the elderly to "enhance hearing and vision, strengthen the middle energizer, and improve willpower." This formula emphasizes astringency; unsuitable for those with qi stagnation and fullness or constipation.