🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Breast hyperplasia is a common female breast disease with diverse treatments, yet efficacy remains suboptimal for certain patients. To explore more effective therapies, Dr. Xie Zhen from the First People’s Hospital of Shangqiu City, Henan Province, adopted pure oral Chinese herbal medicine combined with topical heat application, achieving satisfactory results. This was reported in Issue 2, Volume 36 of *New Chinese Medicine* (2004).
One hundred eighty patients were randomly divided into treatment and control groups, each with 90 cases. The treatment group received oral Xiao Chai Hu Tang and external application of Jin Huang San heat compress. Xiao Chai Hu Tang consists of Bupleuri Radix, vinegar-processed Citrus Peel, Ligusticum Chuanxiong, Paeoniae Alba Radix, stir-fried Citrus Aurantium, vinegar-processed Cyperus Rotundus, and honey-fried Glycyrrhizae Radix. One dose daily, decocted twice and taken in morning and evening. Jin Huang San with added ingredients: *Arisaema*, *Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma*, *Angelicae Dahuricae Radix*, *Curcuma Longa*, *Frankincense*, *Myrrha*, *Ligusticum Chuanxiong*, *Magnolia Bark*, *Trichosanthes Kirilowii Root*, *Phellodendri Cortex*, vinegar-processed Cyperus Rotundus, *Rheum Palmatum*, and *Manis Pentadactyla*. All herbs placed in a cloth bag, boiled in a pot until boiling for 15 minutes. Remove the bag, wait for moderate temperature, then apply warm compress to affected area. Once daily, 20 minutes per session; one herb package lasts 7 days. The control group took Libang Ping Xiao Tablets orally: 4–8 tablets (0.23g/tablet) three times daily. External application of 10% magnesium sulfate solution-soaked towel for warm compress, once daily. Both groups underwent 7-day treatment cycles with 3-day intervals; typically 1–3 cycles. Post-treatment comparison: treatment group cure rate was 70.0%, control group 37.8%. The difference was highly significant, indicating superior efficacy in the treatment group. Cure duration comparison: among 63 cured in treatment group, 31 cured in one cycle, 21 in two cycles, 11 in three cycles. Among 34 cured in control group, 7 cured in one cycle, 9 in two cycles, 18 in three cycles. Differences in cure duration across 1–3 cycles were highly significant, again indicating better efficacy in the treatment group.
Breast hyperplasia falls under the TCM category of "Ru Pi" (breast lump). Since nipple belongs to Liver and breast to Stomach, breast diseases often stem from emotional distress, anger, worry, and thought, leading to Liver-Stomach Qi stagnation, internal fire, and formation of blood stasis and phlegm masses in the breast. Accordingly, Dr. Xie Zhen believes treatment should focus on soothing Liver Qi, activating blood to resolve stasis, eliminating masses and phlegm, clearing heat and toxins, and softening hard masses. The prescribed Xiao Chai Hu Tang unblocks Liver meridian stagnation, strengthens Qi and spleen, regulates Stomach descending, and relieves pain—especially Bupleuri Radix, which elevates Yang Qi, guiding other herbs to their respective meridians. The external Jin Huang San promotes Qi and blood circulation, clears heat and toxins, removes turbidity, softens masses, and disperses nodules. Its warm application penetrates deeply, relaxing and expanding local tissues, improving blood circulation, enhancing cellular vitality, stimulating fibroblast and capillary regeneration, promoting tissue repair—achieving anti-inflammatory, heat-clearing, detoxifying, swelling-reducing, mass-softening, nodule-dispersing, and analgesic effects. Clinical observations confirm that the integrated internal-external approach of oral Xiao Chai Hu Tang and external Jin Huang San heat compress offers advantages: shorter course, faster onset, higher efficacy, no toxicity or side effects, no pain, and simple operation—providing satisfactory results and high patient acceptance.