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Herbsmith Rx Si Wu Xiao Feng San is a classical Chinese herbal formula recommended by holistic veterinarians to nourish the blood and expel wind in dogs, cats, and horses. Comparable to Eliminate the Wind/Four Substance, Dry Derma Relief, and Four Materials Eliminate Wind Combination, it nourishes the blood and expels wind to address rashes from wind due to blood deficiency and support dry, flaky, itchy coats. Well suited for pets presenting with blood deficiency wind patterns in the skin, with signs such as dry, flaky, or scaly skin, generalized itching, scattered or spreading skin rashes, coat thinning or luster loss, and skin stiffness or roughness arising from insufficient blood failing to nourish the skin and the resulting internal wind or invasion of external wind into blood-deficient skin. Available as a concentrated powder mixed into food; cats and dogs use the Canine Blend, while horses use the Equine/Horse Blend. Dosing varies by species and body weight, and your authorizing veterinarian will provide specific guidance.
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What It Supports
- Blood nourishment for skin and coat: Nourishes the blood using the Si Wu Tang base herbs Sheng Di Huang, Dang Gui, Chi Shao, and Chuan Xiong, restoring the blood needed to nourish and moisten the skin, coat, and superficial tissues, addressing the blood deficiency root that allows wind to penetrate and generate the dry, itchy, flaky skin presentation.
- Wind expulsion and skin itch support: Expels wind from the skin using Jing Jie, Fang Feng, Bo He, Chan Tui, Du Huo, and Chai Hu, directly addressing the wind component of the blood deficiency wind pattern that drives the itching, spreading rashes, and skin irritation in dogs, cats, and horses.
- Heat clearance and skin stasis resolution: Clears heat from the skin and blood using Bai Xian Pi and Sheng Di Huang, and invigorates blood and resolves superficial stasis with Chi Shao and Chuan Xiong, addressing the heat and blood stagnation components that accompany chronic wind-blood deficiency skin patterns and contribute to the redness, irritation, and skin roughness that accompany the itching and flaking.
- Dry, flaky, and itchy coat support: Supports overall coat health by nourishing the blood and fluids that moisturize the skin from within and expelling the wind that dries and irritates the superficial tissues, addressing the dry, flaky, itchy coat presentation that results from blood failing to nourish the skin and wind agitating the superficial layers.
TCVM Principles
- Primary action (Si Wu Tang base): Nourishes and invigorates the blood using the four-herb Si Wu Tang foundation, providing the blood nourishment needed to moisten the skin and eliminate the blood deficiency environment that allows wind to generate and persist in the superficial tissues, addressing the root cause of the blood deficiency wind pattern.
- Secondary action (wind-expelling and heat-clearing additions): Expels wind from the skin and surface with Jing Jie, Fang Feng, Bo He, Chan Tui, Du Huo, and Chai Hu; clears heat and resolves dampness from the skin with Bai Xian Pi; and harmonizes and nourishes with Da Zao, addressing the wind manifestation and the heat-damp component of the skin pattern alongside the blood-nourishing foundation to treat both the root deficiency and the wind manifestation simultaneously.
Available Forms
- Powder - Canine Blend (for dogs and cats): Available in 75 g, 150 g, 500 g, 900 g, and 1200 g sizes; mix into food at the recommended dose for your pet's weight. Cats and dogs both use this blend.
- Powder - Equine/Horse Blend (for horses only): Available in 150 g, 500 g, 900 g, and 1200 g sizes; mix into grain at the recommended dose for your horse.
Suggested Use
For Dogs (Canine Blend Powder):
- Under 30 lbs: ½ tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
- 30-80 lbs: 1 tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
- 80-120 lbs: 1½ tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
- Over 120 lbs: 2 tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
For Cats (Canine Blend Powder): ¼ tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
For Horses (Equine/Horse Blend, 1,000 lb horse): Two tablespoons twice daily for 20 days, then two tablespoons once daily in grain. If the horse initially refuses, start with a small amount mixed into grain and gradually increase until the horse is accustomed to the taste. Most horses will readily accept the herbs in their grain.
Ingredients
Active Ingredients: Sheng Di Huang (Radix Rehmanniae Glutinosae), Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis), Jing Jie (Herba seu Flos Schizonepetae Tenuifoliae), Fang Feng (Radix Ledebouriellae Divaricatae), Chi Shao (Radix Paeoniae Rubrae), Chuan Xiong (Radix Ligustici Chuanxiong), Bai Xian Pi (Cortex Dictamni Dasycarpi Radicis), Chan Tui (Periostracum Cicadae), Bo He (Herba Menthae Haplocalycis), Du Huo (Radix Angelicae Pubescentis), Chai Hu (Radix Bupleuri), Da Zao (Fructus Zizyphi Jujubae)
Inactive Ingredient: Flaxseed
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Active Ingredient TCVM Actions
Si Wu Xiao Feng San is a 12-herb formula that combines the classical Si Wu Tang blood-nourishing base with a broad array of wind-expelling, heat-clearing, and surface-releasing herbs to simultaneously address the blood deficiency root and the wind-heat manifestation in the skin:
- Sheng Di Huang (Radix Rehmanniae Glutinosae) - Fresh/Dried Rehmannia Root: Cools the blood, clears heat, nourishes yin and blood, and generates fluids; serves as the principal blood and yin nourishing herb of the formula's Si Wu Tang base, providing the cooling and blood-nourishing action needed to moisten the blood-deficient skin and clear the heat component of the wind-blood deficiency skin pattern, and differentiating this formula from formulas using the warmer Shu Di Huang by addressing the heat in the blood alongside the deficiency.
- Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis) - Dong Quai Root: Tonifies and invigorates the blood, nourishes the liver, moistens the intestines, and relieves stiffness; the principal blood tonic and blood mover of the Si Wu Tang base, nourishing the blood deficiency that allows wind to penetrate the skin while also providing mild blood-moving action to ensure the nourished blood circulates freely to the skin surface and superficial tissues.
- Jing Jie (Herba seu Flos Schizonepetae Tenuifoliae) - Schizonepeta Herb and Flower: Releases the exterior, expels wind, and relieves itching; one of the principal wind-expelling and itch-relieving herbs of the formula, directly addressing the wind manifestation in the skin and the itching that arises when wind agitates the superficial tissues of blood-deficient skin, working with Fang Feng as the classic Jing Jie-Fang Feng wind-expelling pair.
- Fang Feng (Radix Ledebouriellae Divaricatae) - Siler Root / Ledebouriella Root: Expels wind, releases the exterior, and relieves itching and stiffness; the second principal wind-expelling herb, working with Jing Jie to form the classic wind-expelling pair that addresses wind invasion in the skin and superficial tissues, and also expels wind-damp from the muscles and joints that may accompany the skin wind pattern in some presentations.
- Chi Shao (Radix Paeoniae Rubrae) - Red Peony Root: Cools the blood, invigorates blood, resolves blood stasis, and clears heat from the blood; replaces the blood-nourishing Bai Shao of the standard Si Wu Tang base with the blood-cooling and stasis-resolving Chi Shao, adding heat-clearing and blood-moving action to the formula's blood-nourishing foundation and addressing the blood heat and superficial stasis components of the wind-blood deficiency skin pattern.
- Chuan Xiong (Radix Ligustici Chuanxiong) - Sichuan Lovage Root: Invigorates blood, moves qi, and expels wind; the blood-moving and qi-moving herb of the Si Wu Tang base, ensuring the nourished blood reaches the skin surface and superficial tissues by promoting free circulation throughout the channels and the exterior, and adding wind-expelling action from within the blood to complement the surface wind-expelling herbs.
- Bai Xian Pi (Cortex Dictamni Dasycarpi Radicis) - Dense-fruit Pittany Root Bark: Clears heat, resolves dampness, expels wind, and relieves itching; one of the most important herbs in Chinese medicine for wind-heat and damp-heat skin conditions presenting with itching, rashes, and skin irritation, directly addressing the heat-damp component of the wind-blood deficiency skin pattern and providing targeted anti-itch action in the skin and superficial tissues.
- Chan Tui (Periostracum Cicadae) - Cicada Slough / Cicada Molt: Disperses wind-heat, relieves itching, and clears the eyes and throat; a unique wind-heat dispersing herb with specific affinity for the skin and superficial tissues, directly addressing wind-heat in the skin that drives itching, rashes, and skin irritation, and providing targeted surface wind-clearing action that complements the broader wind-expelling herbs Jing Jie and Fang Feng.
- Bo He (Herba Menthae Haplocalycis) - Field Mint / Peppermint Herb: Disperses wind-heat, clears the head and eyes, and relieves the throat; adds upward and outward dispersing action to the formula, venting wind-heat from the skin surface and the upper body, and working with Chan Tui and Jing Jie to ensure the wind-heat in the superficial tissues is efficiently vented outward rather than being driven inward by the blood-nourishing and astringent herbs.
- Du Huo (Radix Angelicae Pubescentis) - Pubescent Angelica Root: Expels wind-cold-damp, relieves stiffness, and addresses the lower body and deep channels; expels wind from the deeper tissues and lower body, addressing any wind-damp component in the musculoskeletal tissues that accompanies the primary wind-blood deficiency skin pattern, and ensuring the formula addresses wind throughout the body rather than only at the most superficial skin level.
- Chai Hu (Radix Bupleuri) - Bupleurum Root: Releases the exterior and half-exterior, spreads the liver qi, raises yang, and vents heat; provides exterior-releasing and qi-spreading action that helps vent the wind and heat from the superficial layers outward, and addresses the liver qi component of the pattern that may accompany blood deficiency in the liver-dominated skin and wind pattern, working with the blood-nourishing herbs to ensure the liver is both nourished and its qi moves freely.
- Da Zao (Fructus Zizyphi Jujubae) - Chinese Red Date / Jujube Fruit: Tonifies the spleen and stomach qi, nourishes the blood, and harmonizes the formula; the harmonizing and tonic herb of the formula, supporting the spleen's role in producing blood from food to continuously supply the nourishment needed to address the blood deficiency root of the pattern, moderating the dispersing and drying actions of the wind-expelling herbs to prevent them from further depleting the blood and fluids, and improving the palatability and digestive tolerability of the formula overall.
Potential Drug Interactions
Si Wu Xiao Feng San contains blood-moving, surface-releasing, and heat-clearing herbs, including Dang Gui, Chi Shao, Chuan Xiong, Bo He, and Chai Hu, which affect blood viscosity, platelet aggregation, liver enzyme activity, and drug metabolism pathways. Pets currently on anticoagulant, antiplatelet, or hepatically metabolized medications should use this formula under veterinary supervision, as the blood-moving herbs may have additive effects with blood thinners, and Chai Hu and Bo He may influence the metabolism of certain pharmaceuticals through cytochrome P450 pathways, and herb-drug interaction research in dogs, cats, and horses remains limited.
Medication categories warranting extra caution include anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressive medications, hepatically metabolized pharmaceuticals, and corticosteroids or immunomodulatory drugs used for skin conditions. Your authorizing veterinarian can determine appropriateness based on your animal's condition, current medications, and laboratory results.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What conditions is Si Wu Xiao Feng San used for in TCVM?
In Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Si Wu Xiao Feng San is indicated for blood deficiency wind patterns in the skin, presenting as dry, flaky, or scaly skin, generalized itching, scattered or spreading skin rashes, coat thinning or luster loss, and skin roughness arising from insufficient blood failing to nourish the skin and the resulting generation of internal wind or invasion of external wind into blood-deficient skin. Comparable to Eliminate the Wind/Four Substance, Dry Derma Relief, and Four Materials Eliminate Wind Combination, it addresses both the blood deficiency root and the wind manifestation simultaneously, and is appropriate for pets whose skin and coat signs reflect an underlying blood deficiency pattern with wind rather than a damp-heat, toxic heat, or excess wind pattern.
How is Si Wu Xiao Feng San administered to dogs, cats, and horses?
Mix the powder directly into food or grain at the dose recommended for your animal's species and body weight. Dogs and cats use the Canine Blend; horses use the Equine/Horse Blend. Dogs and cats receive the formula twice daily; horses receive two tablespoons twice daily for the first 20 days, then once daily for maintenance. If the horse initially refuses, start with a small amount mixed into grain and gradually increase until the horse is accustomed to the taste. Most horses will readily accept the herbs in their grain. Your authorizing veterinarian will confirm the appropriate dose and schedule for your individual animal.
How long does it take to see results with Si Wu Xiao Feng San?
Many pets show improvement in itching, skin flaking, and coat quality within 3 to 6 weeks of consistent use as the blood is nourished and the wind is expelled from the skin. Because the underlying blood deficiency that sustains the wind pattern is a chronic deficiency condition, a longer course of treatment of 8 to 12 weeks or more is typically needed to adequately nourish the blood and maintain the improvement in skin and coat health. Your veterinarian may recommend periodic reassessment to evaluate both the wind manifestation and the blood deficiency root as the pattern responds to treatment.
How does Si Wu Xiao Feng San differ from other skin support formulas in TCVM?
Si Wu Xiao Feng San is specifically indicated for skin conditions arising from blood deficiency with wind, where the itching, rashes, and dry flaky coat are driven by insufficient blood failing to nourish the skin rather than by damp-heat, toxic heat, or excess wind patterns. It differs from Xiao Feng San, which addresses a fuller wind-heat or wind-damp pattern without the blood deficiency foundation, by including the Si Wu Tang base to simultaneously tonify the blood deficiency root. Your authorizing veterinarian will determine which skin support formula best matches your animal's full TCVM pattern diagnosis based on the character of the skin lesions, the coat quality, the underlying constitution, and the presenting signs.
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