Realgar

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Resolves toxins and dries damp lesions ... Xiong Huang is used externally for sores, ulcerations, scabies, eczema, and snake or insect bites.
• Kills parasites ... older internal and external use includes intestinal parasites and stubborn damp-toxic skin conditions.
• Dispels phlegm and opens obstruction in a narrow classical sense ... historical formula traditions place it in acute toxic-heat or phlegm-wind contexts, but this is now treated with great caution.

Secondary Actions

• Modern practice views realgar primarily through arsenic toxicology, so historical internal use is tightly restricted or avoided outside specialized traditional contexts.
• Heating, burning, or casual home processing changes arsenic chemistry and should never be treated as a harmless folk step.

Classic Formulas

• An Gong Niu Huang Wan ... historic rescue-formula tradition in which Xiong Huang appears as a toxic mineral for severe heat-closed presentations.
• External toxic-dispersing powders pair Xiong Huang with Bing Pian or camphor for ulcerated or parasitic skin lesions.
• Historical parasite combinations use it in minute supervised amounts for severe toxic or parasitic presentations rather than for routine household use.

Classical References

• Traditional materia medica describes Xiong Huang as a warm, toxic mineral that resolves toxin, kills parasites, and treats sores and bites.
• The same classical record that gives it power also explains why modern safety framing must be strict ... arsenic minerals are not gentle daily herbs.