Siler Tablets

Siler Tablets is based on several traditional formulas that are used mainly in the treatment of edema of the hands and feet, arthralgia (especially affecting the legs), and knee swelling (fluid accumulation). These include Major Siler Combination (Da Fangfeng Tang), Tu-huo and Loranthus Combination (Duhuo Jisheng Tang), and Cinnamon and Anemarrhena Combination (Guizhi Shaoyao Zhimu Tang). Siler Tablets is also related to Hoelen Five Formula (Wuling San), the primary diuretic prescription of traditional Chinese medicine, substituting siler for polyporus and alisma, and to Jade Screen Formula (see Jade Screen Tablets), which regulates the surface and reduces excessive sweating. According to Chinese traditional principles, water accumulation can cause numbness, stiffness, and aching (but usually not sharp pain, which would suggest blood stasis). A common result of leg edema is aching in the legs, tendency to experience numbness, and difficulty in walking. Siler is reputed to have the ability to both remove dampness and prevent "wind disorders" thus helping the body resist the tendency to have aches and pains associated with weather changes. The key aspects of this formula, compared to simple diuretics, is the use of siler and cinnamon twig to resolve the surface and dispel wind in order to alleviate stiffness and aching. Astragalus, usually thought of as an immune enhancing agent, is also considered a diuretic and is deemed useful in treating pitting edema when combined with hoelen. Similarly, cinnamon is mainly considered a wind dispelling agent, but it also serves to conduct out moisture when used with hoelen (see Cinnamon and Hoelen Formula, Han Formulas).