Cicada Molting
蟬蛻 · Chán Tuì
Settles fierce itching and eases a hoarse, raw throat
What it does
Cicada molting settles fierce itching and vents rashes that are red and spreading, which earns it a place in Eliminate Wind Powder. The medicine is the empty shell a cicada leaves behind, and TCM reads it that way: sweet, salty, slightly cold, and light enough to rise to the skin. It also clears a hot hoarse throat, soothes red irritated eyes, and calms fever convulsions in children.
Safety
- Use with caution during pregnancy. Many classical texts record its use to promote labor and expulsion of the placenta.
- Allergic reactions have been reported: itching, redness, flushing, sweating, fever, hoarseness, palpitations.
- A worsening rash or new hoarseness may be a reaction, not slow progress. Stop use and reassess.
- Occasional short-lived abdominal pain has been reported shortly after taking it.
- AHPA covers botanicals only, so this animal-derived shell is outside its scope rather than cleared by it.
How to take it
Rinse the shells well and use plenty of boiling water, since residue collects inside. Decoct 3–9g in 3 cups for 15–20 minutes. Drink warm, up to twice daily. Usually combined with other herbs.
Combine with schizonepeta and siler for acute itchy hives or wind-heat rash that is spreading
Where it comes from
Cicada molting first appears in the Materia Medica of Medicinal Properties, a Tang dynasty text from around 600 CE. The medicine is the shell shed by Cryptotympana pustulata, the black cicada, as it transforms from nymph to adult. Classical texts held that it forms of wood and earth, absorbs wind, and sips dew, which is how they explained its cool dispersing action. Its light hollow structure is why the medicine counts as light and rising.