Hua Shi – Talc – Talcum

Hua Shi

English Name: talc

Literal Translation: “slippery rock”

Pharmaceutical Name: Talcum

Medica Category: Water-Regulating and Damp-Resolving Herbs

Properties: Hua Shi enters the Stomach and Urinary Bladder channels; it is sweet and bland in nature and cold in temperature.

What is Hua Shi?:

The Chinese Herb Hua Shi is the mineral talc. It is ground into powder, wrapped in cheesecloth, and then decocted when used as medicine).

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Hua Shi:

Hua Shi enters the Urinary Bladder to clear heat and promote normal diuresis and is very commonly used to treat various manifestations of lin zheng (dysuria syndrome). Clinical presentations addressed by Hua Shi include: pain/burning sensations while urinating, cloudy urine, bladder stones, and blood in the urine (cf. the formula Ba Zheng San).

Hua Shi addresses irritability, thirst, dysuria, and watery diarrhea associated with summer-heat (i.e. overdoing it in hot, humid summer weather).

Hua Shi is used topically (applied as a powder) to clear damp-heat from the skin—clinical presentations to include dermatological disorders such as eczema, athlete’s foot, and other rashes and such with dampness in the etiology.