Dry evil attacking the lung

　　This condition is mainly caused by external dry evil or warm-heat evil attacking the lung, causing dryness and injury to Yin. Dry evil is prone to injure lung fluid, so the disease location is mostly in the lung. Due to wind-dry injury to the lung, lung fire is clear and moist; or dry-heat injury to the lung, lung collateral is damaged; or warm-heat evil attacking the lung, lung Qi and Yin are injured, fluid is insufficient to nourish the whole body, tendons and skin are malnourished; or due to excessive lung heat and dryness, fluid consumption and Yin injury, symptoms such as cough, hemoptysis, epistaxis, flaccidity, diabetes mellitus, etc. may appear.

　　Acute and chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, pneumonia, polyneuritis, acute myelitis, diabetes.

　　1. Chronic bronchitis:It is a chronic non-specific inflammation of the tracheal, bronchial mucosa and surrounding tissues. Clinically, the main symptoms are recurrent attacks of cough, sputum, or asthma, lasting for 3 months every year, and continuously for more than 2 years. Early symptoms are mild, more frequent in winter, and alleviated in spring and summer. In the later stage, due to the aggravation of inflammation, symptoms can persist throughout the year. Its pathological characteristics are the hyperplasia of bronchial glands and increased mucosal secretion. The condition presents a slow progressive course, often complicated by obstructive emphysema, and severe cases may develop pulmonary hypertension, even pulmonary heart disease.

　　2. Bronchiectasis:It is characterized by irreversible anatomical abnormalities of the local bronchi, caused by chronic suppurative inflammation and fibrosis of the bronchi and surrounding lung tissue, which destroys the muscle and elastic tissue of the bronchial wall, leading to bronchial deformity and persistent dilation. Typical clinical symptoms include chronic cough, expectoration of a large amount of sputum, and repeated hemoptysis.

　　3. Pneumonia:It refers to inflammation of the terminal airways, alveoli, and interstitial lung tissue, which can be caused by pathogenic microorganisms, physical and chemical factors, immune injury, allergy, and drugs. Bacterial pneumonia is the most common type of pneumonia and one of the most common infectious diseases.

　　4. Polyneuritis:It was previously called peripheral neuritis and refers to symmetric damage to the majority of peripheral nerves caused by various etiologies. The main manifestations are symmetrical sensory, motor, and autonomic nerve disorders in the distal extremities, paralysis of lower motor neurons, and autonomic dysfunction.

　　5. Acute myelitis:It is a non-specific inflammation that causes demyelination or necrosis of the white matter of the spinal cord, leading to acute transverse myelitis, also known as acute transverse myelitis. The clinical features are paralysis of the limbs below the level of the lesion, conduction bundle sensory disturbance, and urinary and fecal disorders.

　　6. Diabetes:It is a common disease caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors, with hyperglycemia as the main sign. Common symptoms include polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia, and weight loss. Diabetes can cause damage to multiple body systems. It is caused by insufficient absolute or relative secretion of insulin and reduced sensitivity of target tissue cells to insulin, leading to a series of metabolic disorders including hyperglycemia, which is the main sign.

　　The main clinical manifestations are:Dry cough, consecutive hacking, throat itching, dry throat pain, chapped lips, no sputum or little sputum that is sticky and stringy, difficult to cough out; or blood in sputum; or dry nose with nosebleeds; or fever with limb weakness and lack of strength, dry skin; or thirst with excessive drinking, frequent urination, and large volume of urine. Accompanied by dry mouth, dry stools, at the beginning or accompanied by exterior syndrome, thin white or thin yellow fur, red and dry with little fluid, floating and rapid pulse.

　　8. Avoid excessive acrid and dispersing in expelling the exterior. Even if cool dryness initially invades the lung defense, it is only suitable to use acrid and warm to moisten, in order to avoid excessive sweating and injury to the fluid; as for warm dryness attacking the exterior, it is only suitable to use acrid and cool to lightly penetrate, and it is forbidden to use acrid and warm to disperse.

　　7. Avoid greasy nourishment in moistening dryness, and prefer nourishing and clearing to prevent lingering illness and evil.

　　6. Avoid bitter and cold in clearing heat and dampness, and prefer sweet and cold to prevent damage to the Yin from bitter dryness.

　　5. The room should be clean and hygienic, with good air circulation and coolness, but it should be avoided to let the wind blow directly on the patient.

　　4. In terms of symptom care, one can drink various fruit juices and beverages multiple times; for those with sore throat and constipation, it is recommended to eat more vegetables, pears, bananas, and the like.

　　The general physical examination of sputum includes observing the color, properties, and measuring the amount of sputum. Sputum is the secretion of the trachea, bronchi, and lungs.

　　Collect the first mouthful of morning sputum for cytological and microbiological examination. Rinse the mouth repeatedly before sampling, cough forcefully after several deep breaths, and do not spit into saliva. Microbial culture sampling should be done before the start of antibiotic or other drug treatment. If medication has already been taken, sampling should be done at the lowest level of blood drug concentration.

　　Normally, people do not have sputum, while a few have white or grayish white sticky sputum. The sputum of normal people has no special smell. A bloody smell is seen in lung cancer and pulmonary tuberculosis. A fecal smell is seen when the diaphragmatic abscess communicates with the lung. An offensive smell is seen in lung abscess, advanced lung cancer, or bronchiectasis.

　　1. Maidong Zhou (Maidong gruel):30 grams of Maidong, decocted to make a decoction. Use 100 grams of glutinous rice to cook half熟 (half-cooked) and then add the Maidong decoction and an appropriate amount of rock sugar, and cook together to make gruel. Take it in the morning and evening every day.

　　2. Bai He Xing Ren Zhou (Lily and apricot gruel):50 grams of fresh Bai He (Lilium), 10 grams of Xingren (peeled and crushed), and 50 grams of粳米 (Glutinous rice), cook together to make a thin gruel, add an appropriate amount of sugar, and serve warm.

　　3. Xing Li Yin (Apricot and pear drink):10 grams of bitter apricot kernel, peeled and crushed, and 1 large Dali (pear) cut into pieces without the core, add an appropriate amount of water, and boil with the apricot kernel. Add a little rock sugar when the pear is hot, and drink at any time.

　　4. Xue Li Gao (Snow pear syrup):Take the juice of 20 Dali (pear) after removing the seeds, mix with refined honey to make a paste. Take 20 milliliters each time, twice a day.

　　1. Treatment principle:Acrid and warm or acrid and cool with sweet and moistening properties, nourishing the lung, moistening dryness, and nourishing yin.

　　2. Method of treatment

　　1. Internal medicine

　　(1) Basic formula

　　(1) Sangshan Tang: 10 grams of Sangye (Morus alba), 10 grams of Douzi (Bupleurum chinense), 10 grams of Xingren, 10 grams of Xiangbei (Fritillaria thunbergii), 15 grams of Nan Sha Shen (Spatholobus suberectus), 10 grams of Lizi (Pyrus communis), and 10 grams of Shan Zhi (Fructus Gardeniae). This formula is suitable for dry pathogen attacking the lung with a bias towards warm dryness.

　　(2) Additions and subtractions of Xingsu San: 10 grams of Xingren (Aprium), 6 grams of Susu Ye (Perilla frutescens), 10 grams of Jupi (Citrus reticulata), 10 grams of Chenpi (Citrus), 10 grams of Shengjiang (Zingiber), 10 grams of Zhike (Citrus aurantium), 6 grams of Jiegeng (Platycodon grandiflorus), 10 grams of Qianhu (Peucedanum), 15 grams of Fuling (Poria), 5 pieces of Dazao (Jujube), 10 grams of Ziyuan (Aster tataricus), 10 grams of Kudouhua (Farfugium sinense), 10 grams of Bai Bu (Stemona), and 6 grams of Gancao (Licorice). This formula is suitable for dry pathogen attacking the lung with a bias towards cool dryness. Boil the above herbs in water to make 300 milliliters of decoction, take it in two doses, once a day.

　　(2) Adjustments and modifications

　　If there is significant fluid depletion: add 10 grams of Maidong, 10 grams of Yuju (Ophiopogon), and 15 grams of Tianhuafen to the basic formula (1); if there are concurrent symptoms of external wind-heat, such as fever and headache, add 10 grams of Yinhua (Flos Lonicerae), 10 grams of Lianqiao (Fructus Forsythiae), and 10 grams of Niubangzi (Arctium); for severe heat, add 30 grams of Shigao (Gypsum fibrosum) and 10 grams of Zhimu; if there is blood in sputum or nosebleed due to dryness and heat, add 24 grams of Baimao gen (Herba Imperatae), 3 pieces of Oujie (Lotus root node), 10 grams of Xiecao (Salvia miltiorrhiza), and 10 grams of Ce Bai Ye (Pteris).

　　If there is severe aversion to cold with no sweating, add 10 grams of Jingjie (Schizonepeta) and 6 grams of Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia) to the basic formula (2). If there is prolonged dry cough due to dryness and heat, or sudden weakness of limbs after a febrile disease, with dry skin, restlessness, thirst, cough with little phlegm, add 10 grams of Zhimu (Anemarrhena), 10 grams of Shimin (Trichosanthes), 10 grams of Renshen (Ginseng), 10 grams of Ejiao (Collagen), and 15 grams of Tianhuafen (Trichosanthes). If dryness and heat injure the lung, causing thirst and polydipsia, dry mouth and tongue, loss of regulation of the body's vital functions, frequent urination with large amounts of urine, use 10 grams of Huanglian (Coptis), 30 grams of Tianhuafen, 15 grams of Shengdi (Rehmannia), 10 grams of Ouju (Lotus root juice), 10 grams of Gegan (Pueraria), 10 grams of Maidong (Ophiopogon), 10 grams of Tiandong (Asparagus), 10 grams of Zhimu, and 6 grams of Renshen.

　　2. External Application of Medicines

　　When there is dryness in the nose and nosebleeds, or even uncontrolled nosebleeds, you can grind garlic into a paste, apply the garlic paste to both sides of the涌泉穴 on the soles of the feet, usually apply the medicine for 1 hour until the bleeding stops.

　　3. Diet Therapy

　　(1) Ophiopogon Porridge: Take 30 grams of ophiopogon, decoct the juice. Use 100 grams of glutinous rice to cook half熟, then add the ophiopogon juice and an appropriate amount of sugar, cook together to make porridge. Take it in the morning and evening every day.

　　(2) Lily and Apricot Kernel Porridge: Take 50 grams of fresh lily, 10 grams of apricot kernel (peeled and crushed), and 50 grams of glutinous rice, cook together to make thin porridge, add an appropriate amount of sugar and serve warm.

　　(3) Apricot and Pear Drink: Take 10 grams of bitter apricot kernel, peel and crush it, cut a large Dapeng pear into pieces without the core and add an appropriate amount of water, cook with the apricot kernel. Add a little sugar to the hot pear and drink at any time.

　　(4) Snow Pear Syrup: Take the core out of 20 Dapeng pears, squeeze the juice, mix with refined honey to make syrup, take 20 milliliters each time, twice a day.

　　3. Key Points of Treatment

　　1. The treatment of autumn dryness disease, as mentioned in 'Su Wen · Zhen Zhen Yao Da Lun', has the saying 'Dryness should be moistened'. This is the basic principle of treating dry syndrome, which has been revered as a benchmark in later generations. Treating dryness is different from treating fire; fire can be treated with bitter and cold, while dryness should be treated with soft and moist; fire depression can be released. Dryness should be moistened; treating fire can be directly suppressed, while treating dryness should only be moisturized. Medicines such as Platycodon grandiflorus, Ophiopogon japonicus, pear peel, Trichosanthes kirilowii, rhizome of Polygonum, Fritillaria thunbergii, and Anemarrhena asphodeloides can be used. According to the different properties of dryness evil, such as cold and hot, appropriate warming or cooling drugs for permeating and moistening should be used. For the initial stage of autumn dryness, when cool dryness attacks the lung, treatment should be given with acrid and warm moisturizing, permeating the surface and dispelling cold; when autumn sunshine is too strong, warm dryness attacks the lung, treatment should be given with acrid and cool, sweet and moist, permeating the surface and releasing heat; if lung dryness transforms into fire, damaging the lung yin, then treatment should be given with clearing the lung, moistening dryness, and nourishing yang; in the later stage, when dryness and heat are relieved, and the lung and stomach yin are not yet recovered, it is advisable to use sweet and cold medicine to generate body fluid and nourish the lung and stomach.

　　2. When treating autumn dryness, certain taboos should also be noted.