Clear heat and dry damp (qing re, zhao shi)

These bitter, cold and drying herbs clear heat, dry dampness, purge fire and eliminate toxins, making them effective at treating accumulations of damp-heat that manifest as various hot, painful swellings such as burning dysentery, painful urination, inflamed haemorrhoids, suppurative abscesses and sores, infections and jaundice.

They often contain high levels of antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic compounds. The main herbs in this category are called the three yellows (san huang) and focus their effects on either the upper body (huang qin, baikal skullcap, Scutellaria baicalensis), the middle (huang lian, goldthread, coptis chinensis) or the lower (huang bai, phellodendron bark, Phellodendron amurense).