Talcum, Hua Shi 滑石Hua Shi (TCM)Talq (Unani) Ha shig ཧ་ཤིག (Tibetan) |
|
|
Green TalcPhoto by Rob Lavinsky iRocks.com
Minerological name:
Hydrated Magnesium Silicate Mg3 (Si4Oio) (0H)2
Several varieties are known:
- Talc
- Soapstone; composed primarily of Talc
Parts used:
The Lexicon of Alchemy says there was 4 species: white, yellow, black and red
‘Greenish foliaceous Venice Talc’ was preferred for medicinal use in the West.
Temperature & Taste:
Cold, dry. Sweet
Hardness: 1 (softest mineral on Moh’s scale)
Specific Gravity: 2.7-2.8
Luminescence: sometimes white, yellow, brown, green or blue.
Insoluble in water and dilute mineral acids.
Uses:
1. Clears Damp-Heat, Promotes Urine:
-very useful for heat and obstruction of urine with painful, dribbling urine
-dark, painful, scanty urine as seen in acute urinary tract infection, oliguria and cystitis
-Diarrhea and Jaundice from Damp-Heat
-Urinary stones and the associated Strangury
2. Clears Heat and Damp, Resists Poison:
-Fever associated with strong Heat or Damp-Heat: Fever, heavy feeling, thirst, yellow tongue coating
-‘Summer-heat’ disorder (Fever during Summer) with urinary difficulty, thirst, irritability
-previously used for Fever, Epidemic disease and other toxins in the West
-inhibits gastrointestinal uptake of poisons
3. Clears Heat, Stops Bleeding:
-Hematuria, bloody discharge, Leukorrhea with Blood
-Hemoptysis, Epistaxis
-Menorrhagia
4. Externally:
-much used as a cosmetic
-decoction or solution can be applied to the lower abdomen for diffcult urinatuon during pregnancy (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
-Damp, weeping, skin lesions including Herpes and Blisters
-Fungal infections of the toes
-used in Tooth powders
Dose:
Decoction: 5–15 grams, broken and put in cheesecloth and decocted for 45 minutes before adding herbs.
Levigated Powder: 500mg–2 grams (usually in pills), usually with Milk, Ghee or Honey.
In Unani, it is given with Milk, Cream or Brown Sugar for Diarrhea, Dysentery, Menorrhagia.
Correctives:
Sugar, Ghee (Unani)
Substitutes:
Red Earth (and other Earths) (Unani)
Preparation:
Avoid inhaling the dust when powdering.
1. ‘The best way to turn Talc into fine powder’:
Take 6 oz. of grossly powdered Venice Talc and add to it 6 lbs. of River pebbles (about the size of Beans); put all in a leather bag (made of Calves skin), gather the end together and shake it continually for 1-2 hours; take it out and sieve it, returning that which will not pass through the sieve into the bag again and re-shaking it until all is turned to a most fine powder. By this method, it may be turned into a finer and whiter powder than can be achieved by grinding or long calcination.
‘The purest of any Fucus, and may be applied to the skin without Pomatum; for it sticks to the pores and Penetrates them, by reason of its fineness and oleaginous quality’. (Salmon)
2. Calcination of Talc:
Talc can be calcined several ways:
i. Heat red hot a number of times quenching it each time in water until it falls into a very fine powder;
ii. Beat Talc in a Hot mortar until it shines no more, and Calcine in a potters furnace for 3 days with equal parts of Linden Tree Coals.
iii. Beat the Talc thin, heat it Red hot, then quench it in Oil of Sulphur 12 or more times until it is as white as snow; sweeten with Rain Water (ie. wash it), then dry it; form into balls with Egg Whites, bury it in Quicklime in a Crucible, and Calcine 3 days in a Glass or potters Furnace until pure and white. Other methods were used. (Salmon)
3. Modern Preparations:
i. More recently, when Talc has been used in Medicine, it has been Purified by boiling with dilute Hydrochloric Acid, then washing free from the Acid.
ii. In addition, it has often been sterilised in modern times by heating to 160 degrees C. for at least 1 hour.
Main Combinations:
Clear Damp, Promote Urine:
1. Burning, Painful, Obstructed Urine:
i. Painful dribbling urine, Talcum with Gardenia Zhi Zi
ii. urinary discomfort, Talcum with Mallow seed (Dong Kui Zi)
iii. Strangury from Heat, Talcum with Malva Dong Gui Zi with Pyrrosia Shi Wei, Dianthus Qu Mai
iv. difficult and obstructed Urine, Talcum with Akebia Mu Tong, Plantain seed (Che Qian Zi) (as in Ba Zheng San)
v. Talcum with Asparagus root, Tribulus seed, Tragacanth, Quince seed (Ayurveda)
vi. Talcum with Egg shell
2. Urinary Stones with Strangury, Talcum with Lygodium Hai Jin Sha, Lysmachia Jin Qian Cao, Akebia Mu Tong
3. Diarrhea, Dysentery:
i. from Damp-Heat, Talcum with Poria Fu Ling, Coix Yi Yi Ren
ii. with Blood or Mucus in the Stool, Talcum with Saltpeter, Sulfur, Alum, formed into pills with flour (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
3. Leukorrhea, Urinary disorders with Weakness, Talcum with Chlorophytum, Tribulus seed, Tragacanth, Quince seed (Ayurveda)
4. Gonorrhea, Dysentery, Menorrhagia, Talcum with Tabasheer, Cubeb, Cardamon (Ayurveda)
5. Rheumatism from Damp-Heat, Talcum Powder with Stephaia Han Fang Ji, Coix Yi Yi Ren (Job’s Tears), Silkworm Feces (Can Sha), Gardenia Zhi Zi (as in Xuan Bi Tang)
Other:
6. Fever from Wind-Heat:
i. Talcum with Peppermint (Bo He), Scutellaria Huang Qin
ii. Talcum with Gypsum, Calcite
7. Summer-Heat
i. with Fever, Irritability, Thirst, Painful urination Talcum with Licorice (as in Liu Yi San. from Shang Han Biao Ben)
ii. if the is exterior Wind-Heat, add Peppermint to the above.
iii. with Fever and Vomiting, Talcum with Agastache Huo Xiang and Clove (as a powder with rice soup) (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
iv. Summer-Heat with Dampness (often seen in the tropics, heaviness, aching pain around the body, chest and epigastric distress), Talcum with Bitter Almond (Ku Xing Ren), Coix (Yi Yi Ren), Amomum Bai Dou Kou.
8. Jaundice, Talcum, Gypsum, malted Barley (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
9. Hemoptysis, Talcum, Red Coral, Starch, Henbane seed (Syrian ‘Book of Medicine‘, Budge, 1913)
10. Bleeding from Heat:
i. Talcum, Frankincense bark, Starch (equal parts), powder and take in spoonful doses with water. (Syrian ‘Book of Medicine‘, Budge, 1913)
ii. Talcum, Red Coral, Costus, Acacia, Rhubarb, Frankincense, Sumac (Syrian ‘Book of Medicine‘, Budge, 1913)
11. Menorrhagia: Dragons Blood, Gum Arabic, Red Earth, Talcum, Pearl (equal parts). Proven effective in young girls with menorrhagia, given in 3 gram doses from first day of cycle until menstruation ceases (Unani)
Externally:
12. Eczema, Ulcers and other Damp-Heat skin lesions:
i. Talcum with Phellodendron Huang Bai and burnt Gypsum (Duan Shi Gao) topically
ii. Talcum with Phellodendron Huang Bai and burnt Alum (Bai Fan) topically
13. Chronic Periodontitis (Gum inflammation), Talc powder (18), Licorice powder (6), Cinnabar (3), Realgar (1 ½). Powder and mix with 70 grams of Honey. Apply topically daily for 2 weeks, then have a break (TCM)
14. Heat Rashes, Talcum, Peppermint (Bo He), Licorice, Borneo Camphor (Bing Pian)
15. Prickly Heat, Talcum with Zinc oxide and Boric acid, topically.
16. Burns, mix Talcum with Whey and apply topically
17. Wounds, Talcum with Rhubarb (TCM)
18. Syphilitic sores and ulcers, Talc (5), Catechu (1), mix with Ghee and apply (Ayurveda)
19. Cosmetic:
i. Talcum with with Oil of Camphor
ii. the fine powder of Talcum is mixed with Safflower, is used as a rouge for the cheeks
iii. as a face powder, Talc (3 parts), Chalk (1 part)
20. Fungal infections of the toes, Talcum with Alum, both calcined, are applied. (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
Major Formula
Ba Zheng San
Liu Yi San
Yi Yuan San
San Ren Tang
Qu Feng Zhi Bao Dan
Fang Feng Tong Sheng San
Zi Xue Dan
Cantharide 37 (Tibetan Meidicine)
Pills to Stop Bleeding (Unani)
Cautions:
1. Not used in Spleen weakness
2. Not used in Yin Deficiency
3. Not used during Pregnancy
4. Talc is liable to be heavily contaminated with bacteria including Clostridium tetani and Bacillus anthracis. In addition, 4 babies died from Tetanus in Auckland, and this was found to be from a batch of Indian Talc which contained Tetanus spores. It should therefore be sterilized before use by heating at 160 degree for at least 1 hour.
5. It may cause granuloma in the abdomen, rectum, and vagina; this is of more concern if large doses are used repeatedly, or the powder is not fine enough. Large doses of the powder can cause Stones.
6. Inhalation of Talc dust can cause serious respiratory diseases including Pneumoconiosis. Avoid inhaling the dust when powdering.
Drug Interactions:
1. Asarum is said to counter the effect of Talcum (TCM)
Main Preparations used:
Tincture of Talc
1. Tincture of Talc:
‘Extract Calcined Talc with Spirit of Salt which is green; decant, abstract and cohobate so long until a red Tincture will come over the helm.
An Antidote against Poison, Plague, and all sorts of Malignant Fevers: it is both a remedy and preservative’.
Dose: 4-6, or 7 grains daily. Some said the Tincture is best extracted from Red Talc. (Salmon)