🌿 Folk Prescriptions

When discussing nephritis, many people may not take it seriously, but once it progresses to renal failure—uremia—the harm it causes to humans is comparable to certain cancers. Kidney damage can occur at any age, commonly seen in acute nephritis, chronic nephritis, and urinary tract infections. Below are several herbal formulas for reference:

Single Herb Formulas
1) Carp: Use one 1–1.5 kg black carp, gut and clean thoroughly. Seal the belly with clay, roast over charcoal until white smoke emerges. Cool, grind into powder. Take 2 spoonfuls three times daily with warm water. Complete one course. Avoid salt. This formula effectively reduces edema. Suitable for acute nephritis with wind-cold invading lung and triple burner qi stagnation, or chronic nephritis with spleen-kidney yang deficiency and dampness overflow.
2) Corn Silk: Use 100g corn silk, boil with 1000ml water for 20–30 minutes, reduce to 300–400ml. Filter and take twice daily. Ideal for pronounced edema with hypertension. Applicable to acute nephritis with wind-heat invading lung and damp-toxin accumulation, or chronic nephritis with liver-kidney yin deficiency and liver yang hyperactivity.
3) Prune: Use prune charcoal, 3g daily, divided into two doses. Continue for 7–8 weeks. Effective in reducing proteinuria. Suitable for nephritis with spleen-kidney deficiency and essence-blood depletion.
4) Reed Root: Reed root is the best diuretic. Use 60g fresh reed root (30g dried), boil into a decoction and drink frequently. Suitable for edema and hematuria. Applicable to acute nephritis with wind-heat invading lung and damp-toxin accumulation, or chronic nephritis with heat-toxin attacking and injuring yin-blood, or spleen-kidney yang deficiency with dampness overflow.
5) Black Sesame: Roast black sesame, grind into powder, mix with sugar water and drink. Suitable for chronic nephritis with long-standing deficiency and cold in the lower energizer.
6) Winter Melon: Use 500g winter melon, boil into three large bowls of soup, divide into three servings. Suitable for acute nephritis with wind-heat invading lung and damp-toxin accumulation, or heat-toxin invading internally and injuring yin-blood.
7) For obvious edema and decreasing urine output, consume more diuretic foods such as radish, winter melon, loofah, red beans, black beans, crucian carp, bamboo shoots, and watermelon. For hematuria in urinalysis, consume foods with hemostatic effects such as shepherd’s purse, eggplant, peanuts, white rush root, and lotus root sections. For nephritis with hypertension, consume foods with antihypertensive effects such as jellyfish, celery, spinach, tomatoes, wood ear mushrooms, fresh corn, and Chinese water chestnuts regularly.
Compound Formulas
1) Carp and Red Bean Drink: One large carp, 60g red adzuki beans. Cook and consume both fish and broth in one meal. Do not add salt. Suitable for acute and chronic nephritis with prominent edema and red, painful urination.
2) Pepper Chicken Egg White: 7 whole white peppercorns, 1 fresh egg. Drill a small hole in the egg, insert peppercorns, seal the hole with flour, wrap in wet paper, steam until cooked. Eat the egg and peppercorns after peeling. Adults: 2 per day; children: 1 per day. One course lasts 10 days, rest 3 days, then repeat. Suitable for chronic nephritis with spleen-kidney deficiency and essence-blood depletion.
3) Two Dragon Decoction: 120g red adzuki beans, 9g shanglu. One day’s dose, boil in water and drink the decoction. Take continuously for 3–5 days. Suitable for acute nephritis with wind-heat invading lung and damp-toxin accumulation.
4) Houttuynia and Plantain Grass Decoction: 60g houttuynia, 60g plantain grass. Boil in water and drink the decoction. Suitable for nephritis with obvious edema and yellow greasy tongue coating.
5) Red Bean and Mulberry Bark Decoction: 60g red adzuki beans, 15g mulberry bark. Boil, discard mulberry bark, drink the soup and eat the beans. Useful as an auxiliary treatment for chronic nephritis with slight edema and occasional pus cells in urinalysis.
6) White Reed Root and Red Bean Decoction: 250g white reed root, 120g red adzuki beans. Boil until water evaporates, remove reed root, chew the beans in several portions. Suitable for all types of acute and chronic nephritis.
7) Frog, Mole Cricket, and Old Gourd Powder: 2 dried frogs, 7 mole crickets, 15g old gourd. Slightly stir-fry, grind into fine powder or make into pills. Take 6g with warm wine three times daily. Suitable for acute nephritis.
8) Crucian Carp Soup: 500g crucian carp, 1 head of garlic, 3g pepper, 3g Sichuan pepper, 3g tangerine peel, 3g cardamom, 3g betel pepper.
Place scallions, soy sauce, salt, Sichuan pepper, garlic, etc., inside the fish belly, cook until tender to make a soup. Suitable for all types of chronic nephritis.
9) Water Red Flower Seed and Lean Pork Soup: 30g water red flower seeds, 120g lean pork. Boil in water, drink the soup and eat the meat. One dose daily, divided into two servings. Treats chronic nephritis with edema and significant proteinuria. Suitable for spleen-kidney yang deficiency with dampness overflow and spleen-kidney deficiency with essence-blood depletion.
10) Winter Melon and Carp Soup: 500g carp, 200g winter melon (cut into chunks). Cook together until tender. Add 10g chopped scallions and a pinch of salt before serving. Suitable for chronic nephritis patients.
11) Rehmannia and Yam Honey: 60g prepared rehmannia, 60g Chinese yam, 500g honey. Quickly wash rehmannia and yam, place in a clay pot, add 3 large bowls of cold water, simmer over low heat for about 40 minutes, filter out first decoction (half a bowl). Add 1 large bowl of cold water, simmer for 30 minutes until half a bowl remains, filter and discard residue. Mix first and second decoctions with honey, pour into a ceramic bowl, cover tightly to prevent steam entry. Steam over high heat for 2 hours, remove from heat, cool, bottle, seal tightly. Take twice daily, 1 spoon each time, with warm water after meals. This formula is beneficial for long-term weakened constitution in chronic nephritis.