𝘒𝘶 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘯 | 𝘚𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘹 | 𝘚𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘵 

Properties: bitter, cold, and enters the bladder, heart, liver, large intestine, stomach, and small intestine channels. 

Ku Shen works to clear heat, dries dampness, stop itching, disperses wind, kills parasites, and promote urination. Ku Shen works very well for lower burner damp-heat. In Chinese Medicine we have three burners or jiaos representing the upper, middle and lower aspect of the truck of the body and the organs within that space, respectively. In the context of our herbal washes, Ku Shen works on the yoni and bladder of the lower burner or jiao. 

To understand why we use Ku Shen, we first must understand what its functions truly mean beyond the Chinese Medicine jargon. Dampness is excess water that has become stuck and needs a pathway out of the body in Chinese Medicine one pathway out is through urination. When dampness is combined with heat, it becomes stagnant or hard to move. When damp-heat accumulation is present in the lower jiao it can show up as thick-yellow discharge or leukorrhea when there is a stubborn vaginal infection and/or as difficult, scanty and burning urination. We see this combination of symptoms with vaginal infections because of the location of the accumulation and the two organs both being in the lower jiao. If the accumulation is present for a long period of time, it can turn into toxic-heat and damp accumulation which is a bit more challenging to treat. In either case of damp-heat or toxic-heat accumulation in the lower jiao, herbs such as Ku Shen make a big difference in helping to bring the body back into balance. 

What makes Ku Shen such a powerhouse herb? For starters, Ku Shen has antibacterial, antiviral and anti-mycotic properties. One study in particular by Zhao et al. looked at the changes in the viral load of patients using a gel form of Ku Shen as a treatment protocol for cervical HPV infections. The study concluded that this single herb alone could help treat HPV. 

According to Modern Study and Application of Materia Medica the alcohol extract of Ku Shen inhibited vaginal trichomoniasis and a study confirmed 126 of 176 patient cured the infection. The sophora alkaloids found in the topical use of Ku Shen have an inhibitory effect on many common gynecological infections.  

Although we do not used an alcohol extraction or gel form of Ku Shen nor do we claim to cure any western diagnosed diseases, we do know that the constituents found in Ku Shen have many wonderful benefits to gynecological care.

When using Chinese Medicine we are not identifying conditions with Western Medicine terminology, rather we are looking at the whole system and using many different tools to help determine what the imbalance is rather then trying to fit it into a box of a western named disease. This means the symptoms of a disease are more helpful to a Chinese Medicine practitioners than a Western diagnosis is. For instance, in cases of vaginal trichomoniasis the symptoms are foul-smelling vaginal discharge, genital itching and painful urination causes by a parasitic infection. If we take those symptoms and translate them into basic Chinese Medicine terminology we get the following:

Foul Smelling discharge - foul smelling = heat or toxic heat discharge= dampness

Genital itching - wind, dampness, dryness (heat can dry the yoni of its moisture causing itching)  

Painful urination - obstruction in fluid movement due to heat & dampness 

Parasitic infection - external toxic-heat invasion 

Now if we look back at the function of Ku Shen - clear heat, dries dampness, stop itching, disperses wind, kills parasites and promote urination - we see it has a positive effect on relieving all of these symptoms, the only difference is we are looking at the symptoms vs the western disease diagnosis. Simply put, we are looking at the body system and symptoms from a different lens. 

Part of our mission at KYA is to make Chinese Medicine accessible, we want women to understand why herbal formulas are helpful in mitigating symptoms to common gynecological imbalances. Our products are formulated with intention, each herb is chosen for the constituents, properties and synergetic abilities. The results are products that women can feel safe to use and grateful to have an alternative option to over-the-counter products that often leave them with another issue to fix. 

You can find Ku Shen in both our yellow and white yoni washes, although its focus is with heat condition its functions along with synergy of other herbs make it a great herb for yellow or white conditions that have itching and dampness present.