Ge Qiao (蛤壳) is the clam shell, recorded as Concha Meretricis seu Cyclinae. It is bitter and salty in flavour and cold in temperature, entering the Lung and Stomach channels. The catalogue files it among the substances that transform Phlegm and stop coughing.

Pinyin

ge qiao

Chinese

蛤壳

Latin Name

Concha Meretricis seu Cyclinae·Meretricis

English Name

Clam Shell

Japanese

kaigokaku

Korean

hapgok

Actions and indications

Clears Lung Heat, transforms Phlegm and descends Lung Qi

Phlegm-Heat or Phlegm-Fire cough and wheezing: thick yellow sputum that is hard to cough up, with pain in the chest and ribs
Cough, asthma, bronchitis

Softens hardness and dissipates nodules

Goiter, thyroid nodules and scrofula from Phlegm-Fire

Promotes urination and drains Damp (mild)

Milky Lin: cloudy, painful urination, with vaginal discharge
Superficial edema with difficult urination
Phlegm-Damp (Tan Yin), and Phlegm that lingers or persists

Neutralises stomach acid and relieves pain (calcined and powdered)

Acid regurgitation and epigastric pain from too much stomach acid
Gastric and duodenal ulcers
Hemorrhoids and bloody dysentery

Combinations

huang qin + gua lou ren + jie geng

Phlegm-Heat blocking the Lungs: wheezing, a stifling chest, and cough bringing up sticky yellow sputum

gua lou + zhi mu + zhi zi + qing dai

Phlegm-Fire causing wheezing, cough and chest pain

qing dai

Lung Heat with bouts of coughing, sticky sputum that is hard to bring up, rib pain, a bitter taste and red eyes

fu shi + bai qian + sang bai pi

Phlegm-Fire blocking the Lungs, causing wheezing and cough

kun bu + hai zao + wa leng zi

Goiter and scrofula.

dong kui zi + mu tong

Painful urinary dysfunction.

huang bai

Vaginal discharge.

hai piao xiao + yan hu suo + gan cao

Excess stomach acid; duodenal and gastric ulcers

fu ling + zhu ling + hua shi

Urinary dysfunction with superficial edema

gua lou

Phlegm-Heat with Qi constrained and clumped, causing a stifling chest and cough with thick yellow sputum; on its own as a complete formula, chest pain from Phlegm and thin mucus

Age

Raw

Granule

Tincture

Concentrate

Frequency

Any Fresh, calcined or roasted: 3-16g place in a cheesecloth bag before decocting; Powders and Pills: 1-3g

3-16 g

—

Cautions

contraindication Cold from deficient Lung Qi

contraindication Yang deficiency

caution Made from a mollusc shell: not suitable for strict vegans, and anyone allergic to shellfish should be told its origin

caution Mostly calcium carbonate, so it adds a real calcium load: anyone with hypercalcaemia, kidney stones or poor kidney function, or who already takes calcium tablets or calcium antacids, should check with their prescriber

caution Surveys of market material rate this shell at high risk of cadmium contamination, and have found microplastics in marine-derived medicines including it

caution Has to be crushed and cooked first to yield much to a decoction; not suited to casual self-dosing

Interactions

Drug interactions

Medicines that need an acid stomach for absorption: like a calcium carbonate antacid, it raises gastric pH and may reduce their uptake (inferred from composition)
Levothyroxine, iron salts, bisphosphonates, and quinolone or tetracycline antibiotics: calcium can bind them in the gut so less is absorbed (inferred from composition, not measured for this herb)