In early summer, tick larvae molt into adult cicadas, leaving shells attached to tree trunks, the ground or drifting along the water.
This shell is called trách thiền (or thiền thoái), which is the main part used as medicine in traditional medicine instead of using the whole animal.
Collecting tick carcasses requires dexterity, the picker must remove them gently and store them in wide jars. Absolutely do not compress or press hard because tick carcasses are very thin, easily crushed and shattered. After bringing them back, the medicinal material is washed off the soil and dried.
Standard tick carcasses will have a curved shape, curved legs, and a length of about 3 cm. The identifying point is a vertical incision on the back, the edge curled inward, the tip of the fontanelle, and the abdomen bulging with many segments. The medicinal form is light, hollow, golden brown in color. Before using the medicine, it is necessary to put the tick carcass in boiling water to gently massage, remove the head and legs.
According to traditional medicine, cicada carcasses have a sweet and salty taste, cold properties, and are odorless. This medicinal material has the function of clearing heat, dispersing wind, dispelling swelling, promoting stones and anti-inflammatory. Below are common clinical applications:
Treat headaches, dizziness: Sauté cicada carcasses, grind into fine powder. Use 4g each time, drink with alcohol or warm water.
Treatment of colds, tracheitis, loss of voice: Decoct 3g of cicada flesh, 3g of licorice, 5g of barley, 5g of arrowroot with 400ml of water. Condense until 100ml remains, divide and drink during the day.
Treat dry, hot, and itchy skin: Use equal amounts including cicada carcasses and the honey wax layer just harvested. Grill briefly, stir-fry until golden brown and then grind into powder. Drink 3 times/day, 4g each time with alcohol.
Treat dreamy eyes: Grind finely a mixture of cicada and yellow chrysanthemum (ratio 1:1). Drink 2 times/day, 8g each time with warm water mixed with a little honey.
Treatment of whole-body edema: Combine cicada carcasses, pine bark, king pine roots and perilla branches (equal amounts). Boil water to bathe daily.
Treatment of kinh phong, convulsions: Use 3g of each type including cicada carcasses, thiên nam tinh, licorice, sinh khương đại táo, combined with 1.5g of toàn yết. Dry all, grind into fine powder, divide and drink 2-3 times a day.
In addition to the peeling layer, folk experience also uses young milk ticks (twig pupae) as tonics. This is a type of larva living in the ground, with a long, round body, chubby, without wings and legs, inside full of light brown young milk.
Baby milk cucumbers are usually processed by being soaked in breadcrumbs or soaked in medicinal wine for many days for use.
According to folklore, this is a nutritious remedy suitable for many ages. Especially in middle-aged men, using colostrum is said to help the body be vigorous, have abundant energy and strong spirit.
