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According to observation, infants in swaddling clothes have a constitution belonging to "Pure Yang" (indicating vigorous growth and predominant yang qi in children), and thus suffer most frequently from heat diseases. Secular physicians, although aware that the pathogens of the Six Qi (Wind, Cold, Summer-heat, Dampness, Dryness, Fire) all transform into fire/heat; that food stagnation leads to heat through depression and steaming; and that internal pressure from fright and excessive movement of the Five Emotions (Joy, Anger, Worry, Thought, Fear) are all Yang, find that current treatment methods initially employ diaphoresis and muscle-releasing techniques to reduce exterior heat, yet still indiscriminately add digestive and promoting agents. Subsequently, they use bitter-cold descending drugs for clearing heat, or combine them with purgative attacks, and instruct families to strictly forbid milk and food. This often results in exhaustion of Stomach Qi, allowing Internal Wind to take advantage, manifesting as convulsions and epilepsy, with many deaths reported. The following common prescription formulas of secular practice are recorded below; one must know them, but they are not worthy of emulation.

Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix), Jingjie (Perillae Fructus), Gegen (Puerariae Lobatae Radix), Qianhu (Peucedani Radix), Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix), Mutong (Akebiae Caulis), Chishao (Paeoniae Radix Rubra), Boluozhi (Raphani Semen), Houpo (Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex), Chenpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Shanzha (Crataegi Fructus), Maiya (Hordei Fructus Germinatus), Zhike (Aurantii Fructus Immaturus), Shenqu (Massa Medicata Fermentata), Gouteng (Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis). In summer, add Xiangru (Elsholtziae Herba); in winter, add Mahuang (Ephedrae Herba) and Qianghuo (Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix).

If fever persists for two or three days:
Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix), Qianhu (Peucedani Radix), Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma), Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), Shanzhi (Gardeniae Fructus), Lianqiao (Forsythiae Fructus), Bohe (Menthae Haplocalycis Herba), Gegen (Puerariae Lobatae Radix), Mutong (Akebiae Caulis), Gouteng (Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis), Houpo (Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex), Zhishi (Aurantii Fructus Immaturus), Gualou Shi (Trichosanthis Fructus). For pills, Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma) is essential.

If unresolved after four or five days, assuming only incomplete food stagnation and disharmony between interior and exterior, generally use Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix), Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), and Xiaoxianxiong Tang (Minor Trapped-in-the-Chest Decoction). If there is vomiting, reflux, irritability, and thirst, use Zhuru (Bambusae Caulis in Taeniam), Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma), and Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma). If there is excessive phlegm and panting, use Tinglizi (Descurainiae Semen seu Lepidii Semen), Xingren (Armeniacae Semen Amarum), Suzi (Perillae Fructus), Boluozhi (Raphani Semen), Dansheng (Arisaematis Cum Bile), and Beimu (Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus). In severe cases, add Niuhuang (Bovis Calculus). These are all routine methods and should be avoided.

If repeated clearing of heat and digestion fails, no method remains. Unless it transforms into convulsions, it is invariably diagnosed as Guteng Hailao (Childhood Bone-stealing Consumption Disease). The medications used do not distinguish between Qi/Blood or Yin/Yang; they merely treat symptoms as they appear. For example, for early coolness and evening heat, Digupi (Lycii Cortex), Danpi (Moutan Cortex), Shengdi (Rehmanniae Radix), Yuanshen (Scrophulariae Radix), Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Beishashen (Glehniae Radix), Shihu (Dendrobii Caulis), and Zhimu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma) are used.
For phlegm, add Suzi (Perillae Fructus), Xingren (Armeniacae Semen Amarum), Beimu (Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus), Juhong (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Rubrum), Dansheng (Arisaematis Cum Bile), and Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix).
Herbs such as Gouteng (Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis), Shihu (Dendrobii Caulis), Fuling (Poria), and Guya (Hordei Fructus Germinatus) are used in every dose. In essence, ineffective herbs are taken, waiting for self-healing. If complications arise, it is merely to cover up the failure.

My commentary: Infants have soft and fragile muscles, unable to withstand Wind-Cold; their Qi of the Six Fu Organs and Five Zang Organs is weak, and milk is difficult to digest, so diseases caused by both internal and external factors are naturally numerous. However, some cases are not due to Wind-Cold yet result in exterior contraction; others involve interior injury without stagnation. What is the reason? I have pondered that humans exist within the intersection of Qi. In spring and summer, Earth Qi ascends; in autumn and winter, Heaven's mandate descends. Exhalation and inhalation adjust with the times. Occasionally, turbid miasma is inhaled, causing the Sanjiao (Triple Burner) to be attacked. It passes through the Mu Yuan (Sea of Origin) and moves directly along the central pathway, inevitably causing fever and irritability. If pediatricians stick rigidly to previous drugs—diaphoresis, digestion promotion, fire clearing, and bowel unblocking—mild cases might luckily succeed, but severe cases will surely collapse. Qian Zhongyang said, "Dirty shoes should not approach infants." My words are well-founded. Over forty years, my clinical efficacy has been considerable; here I briefly outline the general principles.

Spring warmth, summer heat, autumn coolness, winter cold constitute the order of the four seasons. Spring should be warm but turns severely cold; summer should be hot but turns severely cool; autumn should be cool but turns severely hot; winter should be cold but turns severely warm. These are all aberrant and discordant Qi. Diseases arise from exterior contraction, and treatment starts from the Yang aspect. If pathogens enter via mouth and nose, they may not necessarily affect the Foot-Taiyang Meridian first.
Generally, inhaled pathogens first attack the Lung, causing fever, cough, and panting. Pathogens entering via both mouth and nose act first on the upper jiao then the middle jiao; cough and panting are accompanied by vomiting, reflux, and distension. Although caused by exterior pathogens, this is also "interior within the exterior." If one follows the secular physicians' method of dispersing Yang meridians, sweating will not resolve the condition. Due to the thin constitution and timid spirit of young children, the duration prolongs, and pathological changes become complex. Here, the standard methods for the four Qi are listed below.