Cryptotympana pustulata. C. atrata  蝉 蜕  Chán tuì   Cicada shell   Family: Cicadidae       
PART USED: Cicada shell- gathered in Summer and Autumn
Nature: Cold, slightly cold    FLAVOR: Salty, pleasant, sweet CHANNELS: Lung, Liver
FUNCTIONS- Calms internal and external Wind- relieves spasm.[3]
GROUP: Exterior Clearing- Cooling
1. Disperse Wind Heat.[4] Relieves Heat- especially in children.[3]
2. Vents rashes.[4] Promote measles eruptions, relieve itching, heal corneal opacity, relieve spasm.
3. Reduces fevers, clears the Lungs.[1]
4. Clears eyes and remove superficial visual obstruction.[4]
5. Stops spasms and extinguishes Wind.[1,4]
6. Analgesic.[3]
ACTIONS: Anaesthetic- blocks nerve impulse.[3]
INDICATIONS
1. Fever in influenza.[1,3] Coughing and hoarseness, sore throat, hives and measles, infantile nocturnal fretfulness, spasms, tetanus.[1] Wind Heat causing vertigo.[3] Common cold, sore throat, hoarseness. Loss of voice and a swollen, sore throat.[4]
2. Early stage of measles with an incomplete expression of the rash.[4] Nettle rash, itching.
3. Excess Heat in children.[3] High fever.[3] Restlessness.[3] Insomnia.[3] Convulsions.[3] Night crying in children.[3]
4. Acute bloodshot eyes.[3] Corneal opacity. Wind Heat eye problems such as red, painful, and swollen eyes, or blurry vision.[4]
5. Childhood febrile diseases in which Wind causes convulsions spasms, delirium, or night terrors.[4] Also use as an auxiliary substance in treating tetanous- calms wind and stops convulsions.[3,4] Twitching, spasm.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Pregnant women.[3] Exterior deficiency.[4] Use with caution during pregnancy.[4]
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Decoction- 3-6 g.[1] Cicada shell 2-5 g.[2] 3-9 g.[3,4]Good quality is yellow, lightweight, and complete.

- Tetanus- 15-30 g.[3]
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research

Identifying core herbal treatments for urticaria using Taiwan's nationwide prescription database.
Lin YH, Chen YC, Hu S, Chen HY, Chen JL, Yang SH.
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
Urticaria is a common skin disease that has a high impact on a patient's daily life. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been frequently used for treatment of skin manifestations in addition to Western medicine. The aim of this study is to analyze a nationwide prescription database to explore the most commonly used CHM for urticaria.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
A nationwide CHM prescription database was used, and data from ambulatory visits of patients with a single diagnosis of urticaria (ICD-9 code: 708) were identified for the study. Association rule mining was applied to explore the core formula and popular combinations of CHM for urticaria.
RESULTS:
A total of 33,355 ambulatory visits made by 12,498 patients were included in this study. On average, 6.18 CHMs were used per prescription. Xiao Feng San (XFS) and Cryptotympana pustulata Fabricius were the most commonly used herbal formula (HF) and single herb (SH), found in 49.44% and 24.67% of all prescriptions, respectively. XFS with Cryptotympana pustulata Fabricius were used most frequently in a two-combination CHM (9.95%). Moreover, XFS with Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad. plus Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz. were the most frequent three-combination CHM (3.46%). XFS was the core formula for urticaria since it was included in nearly all combinations prescribed for the treatment of urticaria.
CONCLUSIONS:
XFS is the most important core herbal treatment used for urticaria in Taiwan, and Cryptotympana pustulata Fabricius with XFS is the most popular combination. Further well-designed clinical trials and animal model studies for urticaria are still needed to explore the efficacy and mechanism of CHM in urticaria.
Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
PMID: 23684721 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.04.052 J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Jul 9;148(2):556-62. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.04.052. Epub 2013 May 14. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov