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In cases of Shanghan (Cold Damage) and febrile diseases, if fever persists after purgation and the indications for purgation (referring to the syndrome where pathogenic heat and accumulation interact in the intestines and stomach) remain, the purgative method may be repeated until the fever subsides. Even if the fever has subsided but recovery is not yet complete, treatment should be adjusted according to the specific syndrome.

Before and after purgation, or when profuse sweating is about to occur, or has already occurred (colloquially referred to as "good sweat," meaning profuse sweating), as well as in various miscellaneous diseases involving vomiting, diarrhea, etc., following sweating, all cases presenting with irritability and thirst must have water administered in small, frequent sips. If thirst does not cease, water should be given frequently, but never in excessive amounts, to avoid forming a condition of retained fluid retention that fails to disperse (Retained Fluid Retention, also known as Water Accumulation; the *Classic of Internal Medicine* refers to it as Accumulated Drinking). Retained Fluid Retention refers to water fluids stagnating and accumulating within the body, failing to moisten and transform normally. If intestinal and gastric dryness-heat is excessively severe, it leads to qi mechanism stagnation, preventing the distribution of body fluids; therefore, even with drinking, irritability and thirst cannot be relieved. If water is consumed in large quantities at once, it causes excessive dampness-wetness, while the existing dryness-heat in the intestines and stomach becomes constrained, exacerbating the obstruction caused by dampness-fluids, thus forming Retained Fluid Retention. This results in fullness and pain in the heart and abdomen, or vomiting and diarrhea.

If water is not provided, the dryness-heat will intensify, potentially leading to critical danger and death.

The balance of dryness and wetness in the intestines and stomach is like drought and flood in the land; both extremes are inadmissible. The principle of treating disease lies in harmonizing the Six Qi and Yin-Yang, ensuring no bias or deviation, allowing each to maintain its normal state, thereby achieving harmony. Alas! Laypeople often erroneously believe that cold water or cold-natured fluids damage the Spleen and Kidney and obstruct the emergence of profuse sweating. They desire internal and external heat, hoping this will induce profuse sweating; or when profuse sweating is imminent, encountering intestinal-gastric dryness-heat with irritability and thirst; or after profuse sweating has occurred, fearing that drinking water will suppress the sweating, thus withholding water; or when patients with weak qi and chronic deficiency experience irritability and thirst; or those with vomiting, diarrhea, and irritability/thirst; or postpartum women with irritability and thirst—all these are mistakenly attributed to qi deficiency, deeming water intake contraindicated. This demonstrates ignorance of the ancient teaching that "thirst with desire to drink" indicates heat residing in the interior. If righteous qi is depleted, and pathogenic dryness-heat is severe causing irritability and thirst, without nourishment via water fluids and cold-natured medicines to preserve residual yin and clear pathogenic heat, yang-heat will surge violently, causing rapid harm. Moreover, withholding water while administering highly toxic hot medicines to desiccate the body—would this not cause damage? Consider wine: its substance is water. Compared to plain water, wine allows greater consumption and rapid dispersion, yet induces thirst because its bitter-hot nature supports Heart Fire, leading to excess yang and deficient yin, stripping the body of its moistening quality, thus facilitating rapid dispersion and increased water intake. Wine's capacity for high consumption stems from its hot toxicity; without sufficient water to counteract it, slight consumption leads to drunkenness, while forced overconsumption causes excessive dryness-heat and various illnesses. However, wine's heat consumes bodily fluids; since wine's thermal power exceeds its hydrating power, excessive drinking leads to heat-induced drunkenness, exhausting bodily fluids. With the potency remaining, it causes dryness-heat, irritability, and thirst, resulting in wine-related illness. If wine's heat, having exhausted bodily fluids, still causes illness through dryness-heat and irritability, how much more harmful is it to withhold water from patients suffering from extreme dryness-heat and irritability? In cases of dryness-heat and irritability, the intestines and stomach are prone to constraint and stagnation. Treatment should employ herbs that clear heat, resolve stagnation, promote urination, and moisten dryness to prevent extreme dryness-heat from constraining and forming Retained Fluid Retention. Even with increased water intake, intestinal-gastric dryness-heat and irritability may not cease; conversely, excessive dampness in the intestines and stomach may lead to vomiting and diarrhea. For such conditions, formulas such as Liangge San (Cool the Chest Powder), Baihu Tang (White Tiger Decoction), Wuling San (Five-Ling Powder), and Guiling Ganlu San (Cassia Twig and Poria Sweet Dew Powder) should be used according to the syndrome. For various diseases formed due to Retained Fluid Retention, drying and resolving methods should be applied based on the syndrome. Suitable formulas include Xiao Qinglong Tang (Minor Blue Dragon Decoction), Wuling San, Guiling Ganlu San, Huanglian Jiedu Tang (Coptis Decoction for Resolving Toxicity), Xiao Xianxiong Tang (Minor Trap-the-Chest Decoction), and Dachengqi Tang (Major Order the Qi Decoction); refer to the respective formula discussions for syndrome differentiation and detailed explanations.