Library

Treatment for broken brain wind (wind infection following head trauma).
Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix), Sheng Nanting (Arisaematis Rhizoma, raw) [processed, equal parts]
Grind the above herbs into powder. Take two qian per dose, mixed with wine and administered using child's urine (Tongbian).
Buzhong Yiqi Tang (Tonify the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction) (See section on Stroke-like diseases).

Below the chest, in the depression at the junction of the costal cartilages, is the area belonging to the Heart. Pain occurring here is called Heart pain (Xintong). However, the Heart itself does not easily receive pathogenic factors; if it directly receives pathogens, it is called True Heart Pain (Zhenxintong), which is critical and may lead to death within a day or night. All other cases of pain are due to disease affecting the Pericardium Collateral (Baoluo). The Pericardium Collateral is the palace city (protective barrier) of the Heart Master. If invaders encroach upon the palace gates, the situation is already perilous, let alone attacking the Heart Master itself. Therefore, treatment must be urgent. There are nine types of Heart pain: one is Qi pain, two is Blood pain, three is Heat pain, four is Cold pain, five is Fluid retention pain, six is Food stagnation pain, seven is Deficiency pain, eight is Worm pain, and nine is Zhu pain (chronic/infectious pain). They should be treated separately.

Qi pain is characterized by Qi stagnation and stabbing pain that migrates without a fixed location; Chenxiang Jiangqi San (Agarwood Descending Qi Powder) is the primary formula. Blood pain is characterized by fixed, unchanging pain that feels like knife or cone piercing when turning over; Shounian San (Hand-Picking Powder) is the primary formula. Heat pain is characterized by dry tongue, scorched lips, red urine, constipation, preference for cold and aversion to heat, intermittent pain, and a surging, forceful pulse; Qingzhong Tang (Clear the Middle Decoction) is the primary formula. Cold pain is characterized by sudden onset, cold extremities, preference for cold in mouth/nose but preference for warmth and aversion to cold in the body, continuous lingering pain, and a deep, thin, weak pulse; Jiangfu Tang (Ginger and Aconite Decoction) with Rougui (Cinnamon Bark) is the primary formula. Fluid retention pain is characterized by accumulation of fluids, dry heaving with salivation, cough, or choking, and even water sounds heard upon shaking the body; a wiry and slippery pulse indicates this condition; Xiaobanxia Jia Fuling Tang (Minor Pinellia Decoction plus Poria) is the primary formula. Food stagnation pain results from dietary injury, causing distension and fullness in the chest and heart, tenderness to touch, acid regurgitation, and belching of rotten food; a tight and slippery pulse indicates this condition; Baohe Tang (Preserve Harmony Decoction) is the primary formula. Deficiency pain is characterized by palpitations and frightfulness, where pain ceases upon pressure; Guipi Tang (Restore the Spleen Decoction) is the primary formula. Worm pain presents with a pale face and red lips, white spots on or around the lips, or foaming at the mouth, with pain worsening during hunger; Huachong Wan (Worm-Dissolving Pill) is the primary formula. Zhu pain results from exposure to evil influences, causing sudden Heart pain, dark/blueish complexion, confusion, delirium, a pulse that fluctuates between large and small, or disparate pulses in both hands; Shenzhu San (Divine Skill Powder), Congbai Jiu (Scallion White Wine), and Shengjiang Tang (Fresh Ginger Decoction) are all used as primary treatments. This constitutes the general principles for treating Heart pain.

One might ask: Is it true that chronic pain lacks Cold and acute pain lacks Fire? I reply: This statement requires careful consideration. If a person has accumulated internal heat, or contracts summer-heat/dampness heat, or is injured by hot food, then acute pain can also belong to Fire, and it would be inappropriate to treat it with hot medicines. If a person has an inherent deficiency-Cold constitution, suffering from endless pain year after year, then chronic pain belongs to Cold, and it would be inappropriate to treat it with cold medicines. Moreover, cases where a disease begins with Heat invasion and later transforms into Cold are common. One must examine the symptoms carefully and distinguish each case individually to avoid errors. Others say: All pains are Excess patterns, and there is no tonification method for pain. This is also incorrect. If the pain is truly Excess, tonification is contraindicated; if it is Deficiency pain, tonification is necessary. For Deficiency combined with Cold, warming and tonifying should proceed together; for Cold without Deficiency, purely warming agents should be used. Danxi stated: Warming is equivalent to tonifying. If Deficiency is combined with Fire, cooling herbs must be added to the tonifying formula. This is an excellent method for treating pain, and practitioners should attend to it with detailed caution.