What it is:
This herb is the dried intact body of Pheretima aspergillum (Perrier) or Allolobophora caliginosa ( Savigny) trapezoides ( Ant. Deges) ( family Megascolecidae). The former is mainly found in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces and is called Guangdong earthworm; the latter is found in all parts of Chine. The earthworm is caughtin summer and should be cut open as soon as possible, and then washed cleanto get rid of the soil and sand inside,dried or roasted for use. It can also be used fresh.

Property:
Salty in flavour, away heat from the lung to relieve asthma, relaxing the muscles to remove obstruction in the collaterals, and curing stranguria by inducing diuresis.

Used for:
1. High fever, dysphoria, convulsion or infantile convulsion. It can be used alone or with uncaria stem,batryticated silkworm and antelope's horn; for irritability and mania due tothe attack of phlegm-fire on the heart,fresh earthworm can be used after being washed clean, sweetened and dissolved with sugar for oral use.

2. Dyspnea with rale in the throat and yellew sticky thick sputum due to obstruction of the lung by intense heat.Earthworm is powdered alone for oral use or used with ephedra, gypsum , bitter apricot kernel and scutellaria root.

3. Arthritis or heat type characterized by red swollen joints with burning pain and difficulty in flexion and extension. It is often prescribed with mulberry twig, honey-suckle stem, Chinese starjasmine stem and red peony root; in cases of arthritisof cold- damp type with pain and difficulty in flexion and extension of joints, it should be used with Sichuan aconite root, wild aconite root, frankincense, myrrh and so on , as in Minor Bolus for Activating Energy Flow in Channels and Collaterals ( Xiao Huoluo Dan). This herb can also be usedto treat hemiplegia due to the obstruc-tion of channels and collaterals causedby deficiency of qi and blood stasis, often in combination with astragalus root,chinese angelica root and safflower,as in Decoction Invigorating Yang for Recuperation (Buyang Huanwu Tang).

4. Anuresis or dribbling and painful micturition due to accumulationof heat. It can be used alone or with plantain seed, manshurian aristolochia stem, etc. Besides, fresh earthworm together with white sugar can be pounded into paste which can be used topically for the treatment of acute mumps, chronic ulceration at the lower limbs, burns and scalds.

Dosage and administration: 5- 15g, decocted in water for an oral dose; fresh earthworm, 10-20g; or 1-2g of itspowder for swallow.