Hypoglaucous yam

Urine that is cloudy or milky like rice water, with frequency and a dragging heaviness below, in a person with Kidney deficiency and lingering dampness

Thick white vaginal discharge with fatigue and a heavy lower body, tongue coat white and greasy

Overview. Fen bi xie is the dried rhizome of Dioscorea hypoglauca, a twining yam of the hill forests of central and southern China, which botanists now treat as a variety of Dioscorea collettii. The rhizome is sliced and dried into pale, powdery, starchy pieces, which the name fen (powder) describes; the related mian bi xie from Dioscorea septemloba and Dioscorea futschauensis is more fibrous. In Chinese medicine bi xie is the herb for turbid damp in the lower burner: cloudy urine, discharge, and heavy, aching joints from wind-damp.

Clinical Notes. Bi xie is specific for turbidity rather than heat: when the urine is cloudy, milky or greasy, when there is profuse white discharge, or when the joints and lower body feel heavy and waterlogged. Its classical home is Bi Xie Fen Qing Yin, where it joins yi zhi ren, wu yao and shi chang pu to separate the clear from the turbid in Kidney deficiency with cold-damp; for damp-heat turbidity use it with huang bai, che qian zi and fu ling instead.

Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: neutral. Taste: bitter. Channels: Kidney, Stomach. Actions: Drains dampness and separates the clear from the turbid; Dispels wind-damp and unblocks the channels for painful obstruction; Clears turbid damp-heat from the lower burner.