Library

The method of treating disease naturally ought to desire rapid recovery. Theories in the world generally hold that if treatment is early and the medicine matches the syndrome, recovery will be fast; if treatment is late and the medicine does not match the syndrome, recovery will be slow; this is the view of common people. However, there are cases where regardless of whether treatment is early or late, the period of recovery is fixed. *Huangdi Neijing* (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), "Zangqi Fashi Lun" (Treatise on Zang-Fu Organs and Time) states: When pathogenic factors invade the body, they interact according to the principle of mutual overcoming (i.e., the element that overcomes me causes severity, the element I generate causes persistence, and the element that generates me leads to recovery). Recovery occurs when reaching the element I generate; severity increases when reaching the element that overcomes me; the condition persists when reaching the element I generate; and onset or worsening occurs when reaching its own dominant phase. Other statements regarding the timing of disease recovery vary. *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders) states: Diseases originating from Yang recover in seven days; diseases originating from Yin recover in six days. It also states: For those suffering from Wind disorders, if after the exterior syndrome resolves one still feels unwell, it will take twelve days to recover. In all these cases, one should rest quietly and regulate lifestyle to await recovery, rather than indiscriminately administering medicines. If, because the disease has not healed, one tries multiple prescriptions to seek efficacy, or switches to heavy doses hoping for merit, even if no error is made, excessive medicinal force may instead damage Yuan Qi (Primary Vital Energy). Moreover, if incorrect medicines are used, not only is there no benefit, but there may be great harm; this is something that must be known. Furthermore, diseases rooted in the source require time for Shen Jing (Spirit and Essence) to gradually recover. Is there any principle by which Jing (Essence) can grow suddenly? As for external medicine, stages such as swelling, suppuration, flesh regeneration, and wound closure, similar to smallpox, have fixed timelines. Mismanagement in treatment certainly leads to prolonged illness and complications. If one attempts to force rapid results, it is like pulling shoots to help them grow; the harms are incalculable. Yet neither patients nor doctors understand this. When a doctor's medication fails, he suspects his prescription was inappropriate; he then tries other formulas, unaware that the previous formula was actually harmless, merely premature. Instead, he erroneously tries various drugs, changing prescriptions until the disease worsens. Patients, seeing no effect over time, change doctors. New doctors review previous prescriptions, see they were ineffective, and change medications again, moving further away from the correct path. Thus, diseases that would definitely not be fatal become incurable. This is all due to ignorance of the fact that disease recovery follows a specific timeline. Patients cannot be blamed, but how can doctors ignore this and lightly use humans as test subjects? If a doctor understands this well, but the patient insists on near-term effects, he should clearly explain the reasons and determine the expected recovery date. If the patient does not believe him and insists on a new excellent prescription, the doctor should use mild and gentle herbs to temporarily satisfy the patient's request, waiting for spontaneous recovery. If the patient still does not believe him, the doctor should firmly decline treatment. One must never indulge human sentiments to the point of harming the patient in this manner. Although the patient may initially resent and slander the doctor, once the predicted outcome proves true, they will realize the doctor's superior insight and noble character.