Benefits and Effects of Drinking Gypsum-Soaked Water
Disease description:
I’ve recently been experiencing toothache and have had trouble sleeping at night. My doctor suggested using gypsum (shigao), and I’d like to learn more—what are the effects and benefits of consuming gypsum decoction?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Zhang Liwen
Drinking gypsum-infused tea can relieve muscle tension, clear heat, alleviate irritability, and quench thirst. It is used to treat high fever persisting in febrile diseases, restlessness, mental confusion, delirium, mania, thirst, dry throat and mouth, lung-heat-induced dyspnea, summer-heat-induced spontaneous sweating, stomach-fire-related headache and toothache, severe heat-toxin accumulation causing petechiae and maculopapular rashes, and oral or lingual ulcers. Calcined gypsum, when applied topically, promotes tissue regeneration and wound healing. Externally, it treats carbuncles, furuncles, sores, non-healing ulcers, and scalds or burns. However, as gypsum is extremely cold in nature, it is contraindicated in cases of spleen-stomach deficiency-cold or yin deficiency with internal heat.
