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Fever that feels gentle like feathers covering and persists without stopping is exterior heat (Biao Re). Fever that feels steaming hot like a cooking steamer, radiating outward from within, is interior heat (Li Re). In exterior heat, urine is clear; in interior heat, urine is red. For exterior heat with no sweating, Mahuang Tang (Ephedra Decoction) is indicated; if there is sweating, Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction) is indicated. For mild cases of interior heat, Liangge San (Cool the Diaphragm Powder) is indicated; for severe cases, the Three Chengqi Decoctions (Da Chengqi Tang, Xiao Chengqi Tang, Tiaowei Chengqi Tang) are indicated. Fever accompanied by dry mouth, dry tongue, restlessness, and thirst indicates heat in the Yang meridians, which is true heat (Zhen Re); Baihu Tang (White Tiger Decoction) and similar formulas are indicated. Fever accompanied by cold extremities (Jue Leng) and diarrhea with undigested food (Xiali Qinggu) indicates heat in the Yin meridians, which is false heat (Jia Re); Sini Tang (Frigid Extremities Decoction) and similar formulas are indicated.

Fever accompanied by aversion to cold (E Han) originates in the Yang exterior. If there is sweating, Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction) is indicated; if there is no sweating, Mahuang Tang (Ephedra Decoction) is indicated. Absence of fever but presence of aversion to cold originates in the Yin interior. If there is sweating, Guizhi Jia Fuzi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction plus Aconite) is indicated; if there is no sweating, Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Tang (Ephedra, Aconite, and Asarum Decoction) is indicated. Aversion to cold in the back, with a non-dry mouth and calm demeanor, belongs to Shaoyin disease; Fuzi Tang (Aconite Decoction) is indicated. Aversion to cold in the back, with a dry mouth and thirst, belongs to Yangming disease; Baihu Jia Renshen Tang (White Tiger Decoction plus Ginseng) is indicated.

Wind pathogen and Cold pathogen generally accompany each other and rarely separate. When there is cold, there is not necessarily no wind; when there is wind, there is not necessarily no cold. Therefore, aversion to cold (E Han) and aversion to wind (E Feng) often appear together in all three Yang meridians. Both aversion to wind and aversion to cold belong to exterior diseases, and the treatment principle should focus on releasing the exterior. However, wind belongs to Yang, and cold belongs to Yin; thus, in the syndromes of the three Yin meridians, there is aversion to cold but no aversion to wind.

Headache involving the three Yang meridians is accompanied by fever throughout the body; the treatment principle should address the three Yang meridians. If there is constipation and red urine, it indicates that interior heat has become solid; Chengqi Tang (Purgative Decoction) should be used to purge. If the urine is clear and white, even if there is constipation, it indicates that interior heat has not yet become solid and the exterior pathogen has not been cleared; the treatment principle should first address the exterior. Headache involving the Jueyin meridian is mostly characterized by cold extremities without fever, accompanied by vomiting of saliva and foam; this is due to Jueyin meridian carrying cold pathogen upward in rebellion; Wuzhuyu Tang (Evodia Decoction) is indicated to warm and descend. The three Yin meridians typically do not present with headache; only the Jueyin meridian presents with headache because its channel connects with the Du Mai (Governing Vessel) at the vertex. The three Yin meridians typically do not present with fever; however, Jueyin and Shaoyin may also present with fever, termed "counterfeit fever" (Fan Fa Re), because the Zang organs contain Ministerial Fire (Xiang Huo), and excessive Yin repels Yang to the exterior.