Natural Herb Library

TCM pattern · Heat and fire

Liver Fire

肝火上炎 Gan Huo Shang Yan Liver system

Full, blazing heat in the Liver going straight to the head. A splitting headache, red sore eyes, rage, a bitter mouth, ringing ears or sudden deafness, nosebleeds, and a thick yellow coat. Loud, hot, and forceful, with nothing empty underneath.

The Liver channel ends in the eyes and the top of the head. When it fills with fire, the eyes and head are the chimney. This is the pattern that makes a person see red.

3 formulas Updated 2026-10-12 View API data

How to recognize Liver Fire

The signs that point most strongly to this pattern:

  1. Splitting headache, often one-sided or at the top of the head
  2. Red, sore, or swollen eyes
  3. Rage, outbursts, a feeling of pressure in the chest
  4. Bitter taste, dry mouth, thirst
  5. Sudden ringing ears or hearing loss

Also common

  • Nosebleeds, vomiting blood
  • Red face
  • Insomnia, vivid violent dreams
  • Constipation, dark urine
  • Pain under the ribs
Tongue
Red with a thick yellow coat.
Pulse
Wiry, rapid, and forceful.

Formulas for Liver Fire

Primary Long Dan Xie Gan Tang 龙胆泻肝汤 Gentian Decoction to Drain the Liver When: The classic fire-draining formula. Short course. With fire everywhere Huang Lian Jie Du Tang 黄连解毒汤 Coptis Decoction to Relieve Toxicity When: When the fire has spread beyond the Liver into fever and sores. After Jia Wei Xiao Yao San 加味逍遥散 Augmented Rambling Powder When: Once the fire is out, to treat the stress that lit it.

Herbs that matter most for Liver Fire

  • Long Dan Cao Root of Przewalsk Gentian Gentian drains Liver fire. The bitterest herb in the pharmacy.
  • Xia Ku Cao Selfheal Fruit Spike Selfheal clears Liver fire from the eyes and head.
  • Ju Hua Chrysanthemum Flower Chrysanthemum cools the Liver and eyes.
  • Zhi Zi Gardenia Fruit Gardenia clears heat and drains it through the urine.
  • Huang Qin Baical Skullcap Root Scutellaria clears heat from the upper body.
  • Jue Ming Zi Cassia Seed Cassia seed cools the Liver and eyes and moves the bowels.

How Liver Fire differs from its look-alikes

  • Liver Yang Rising Yang rising has an empty root: a sore back, a thin pulse at the rear, little coat. Fire is full all the way down with a thick coat and a forceful pulse.
  • Liver Qi Stagnation Turning to Heat Stagnation with heat is warm and irritable. Fire is burning and raging, with red eyes and a splitting head.

What drains into Liver Fire

  • Long anger and frustration that finally ignited
  • Alcohol, spirits in particular
  • Spicy, fried, and greasy food
  • Stagnation that was never released
  • A hot constitution under stress

Food and habits that help Liver Fire

  • No alcohol. This pattern and alcohol are the same thing wearing different clothes.
  • Cooling food: bitter greens, celery, cucumber, mung beans, chrysanthemum tea.
  • Move the anger out of the body: hard walking, not sitting with it.
  • Sleep, dark room, early. Fire feeds on exhaustion.

What should change as Liver Fire improves

  • The headache, red eyes, and bitter taste ease within days of draining.
  • Stop the cold formula as soon as they do; days, not weeks.
  • If the pattern keeps returning, the root is stagnation or yin deficiency and needs its own treatment.

Conditions where Liver Fire shows up

Headache Migraine Conjunctivitis Tinnitus Hypertension Insomnia Hypochondriac Pain

Sources

  • Maciocia, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, 3rd edition Liver fire blazing upward.
  • Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition Long Dan Xie Gan Tang.

Important Note

A pattern is a picture, not a diagnosis. Most people carry two patterns at once, and the signs here are the classic ones, not a checklist. Use this page to recognize yourself, read a formula label with understanding, and ask a qualified practitioner a sharper question.