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Carbuncles (Ling Chuang, Ding Sores) all arise on the four limbs. The lesion appears yellow, sometimes with a purple-black center. It is characterized by itching preceding pain, and chills preceding fever.

[Luo Zhidi] In the Bingwu year, I resided in Lin'an Prefecture city, where many people suffered from carbuncles. The County Magistrate, Mr. Dong, said to me: "This year, there are extremely many cases of carbuncles. Poor people lack the means for treatment. Recently, I obtained several prescriptions from Lord Shi; those who used them were all effective. The government provides funds for medicine. You should treat them." I agreed. Magistrate Dong posted notices on main streets, ordering me to dispense medicine. This continued for one year, saving many lives. The prescriptions used included Baosheng Dings (Preservation Pellets), Qianjin Tuoli San (Thousand-Gold Interior-Supporting Powder), Shensheng Gaoyao (Divine Efficacy Plaster), and Po Guan Dan (Coffin-Breaking Pill), totaling four formulas.

Baosheng Dings treats carbuncles, back abscesses (Beiju), scrofula (Luoli), and all malignant sores.
Jinjiaoxin (2 qian) Xionghuang (Realgar, 3 qian) Qingfen (Calomel, 2 qian) Naosha (Sal Ammoniac, 3 qian) Shexiang (Musk, 1.5 qian) Badou (Croton Seed, 49 grains, separately ground, processed with mild heat, raw use is especially good) plus Chansu (Toad Venom, 1 qian).
Grind the above into fine powder. Melt 5 qian of beeswax, mix with the medicine to form pellets. Soak in cold water briefly, take out, roll into pills, and shape into cakes the size of a coin's hole. Open the sore head, apply one cake each time, then apply Shensheng Gaoyao, followed by internal administration of Tuoli San. If the sore qi enters the abdomen and the condition is critical, administer Po Guan Dan. (It is believed that carbuncles always present with a red line that can be pricked; toxic blood is released at the end of the line before applying medicine.)

Shensheng Gaoyao treats all malignant sores.
Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) Bencao (Ligustici Chuanxiong Rhizoma) [Note: Text says 'Ben', likely Ligusticum or similar aromatic root] (each 0.5 liang) Moyao (Myrrha, 2 qian) Ruxiang (Olibanum, 2 qian) Baiji (Bletillae Rhizoma, 2.5 qian) Hupo (Amber, 2.5 qian) Huangdan (Lithargyrum, 2 liang) Baijiaoxiang (White Rosin, 3 liang) Huangla (Beeswax, 2 liang) Fenshuang (Calomel, 1 qian) Muguezi (Semen Strychni, 50 grains, peeled) Badou (Croton Seed, 15 grains, oil removed) Qingyou (Refined Oil) Huailiuzhi (Branches of Locust and Willow, 120 branches) Danfan (Chalcanthite, 1 qian).
Place all ingredients together. First, boil the locust and willow branches in the oil until scorched, then remove. Add the remaining herbs and boil, being careful not to burn. Filter the oil, clarify it, add Lithargyrum, and boil again into a plaster. Spread on red silk; it has immediate divine efficacy.

[Qianjin Fang] Tuoli San treats all back abscesses and carbuncles.
Huangqi (Astragali Radix, 1.5 liang) Houpo (Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex) Chuanxiong (Ligustici Chuanxiong Rhizoma) Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix) Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix) (each 2 liang) Baizhi (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix, 1 liang) Lianqiao (Forsythiae Fructus, 2.2 liang) Shaoyao (Paeoniae Radix) Guigui (Cinnamomi Ramulus) Gancaojie (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma with nodes) Renshen (Ginseng Radix) (each 1 liang) Muxiang (Aucklandiae Radix) Moyao (Myrrha) Ruxiang (Olibanum) Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) (each 0.5 liang).
Grind into fine powder. Take 3 qian per dose, decoct with one large cup of wine for two or three boils, and take warm including the dregs.

Po Guan Dan treats swellings and all wind-heat conditions.
Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, 2 liang, half raw half cooked) Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) Mangxiao (Natrii Sulfas) (each 1 liang).
Grind into fine powder, make pills with refined honey the size of a bullet. Take half a pill per dose after meals, dissolved in warm wine. Alternatively, dissolve in half a cup of child's urine. Avoid cold water.

[Jisheng Fang] Jinsha San extracts carbuncles.
Daoren Tou (Xanthii Fructus/Cang'erzi, lightly stir-fried to retain nature, 1 liang) Naosha (Sal Ammoniac, 3.5 qian) Xionghuang (Realgar, 3 qian) Chansu (Toad Venom, more is better).
Prick around the perimeter of the sore first. Mix a small amount of oil with the powder and place it inside the sore. Seal with red silk. After several days, the carbuncle will naturally emerge. If the sore enters the abdomen causing vomiting and reflux, drink juice extracted from Cang'erzi. (Another method uses equal parts Naosha and Xionghuang, ground fine, mixed with honey. Break the sore head to release blood, insert a bean-sized amount of medicine into the sore, cover with paper flower; also effective.)

[Unattributed] Cang'er San treats all carbuncle swellings with divine efficacy.
Use roots, stems, leaves, or seeds of Cang'er (Xanthium strumarium); any single part of consistent color is usable. Burn to ash retaining its nature, grind fine. Mix with good rice vinegar and settled rice wash water to form a paste. Apply according to the size of the sore, thickness about 2 fen. Change when dry. Within ten applications, the root will be extracted. Must prick the sore before application. (Adding Xionghuang is especially good.)

[World/Popular] Grind Cang'er (Xanthium) and white plum until pasty, apply to the carbuncle to extract the root.

[Jisheng Fang] Chansu Dan treats carbuncles.
Take Chansu (Toad Venom), knead with white flour and Huangdan (Lithargyrum) into a dough, roll into pills the size of wheat grains. Prick the affected area and insert one pill. (Method for obtaining Chansu: Use a toad, puncture above the brow ridge, squeeze out venom onto oiled paper or mulberry leaf, scrape down with a bamboo comb, hang in a shady place to dry naturally.)

[Yanyi] Crush Juju (Sonchus arvensis) to extract juice, apply to carbuncles; highly effective. Dry green shoots in shade for use in winter as powder mixed with water. (Bencao states: Extract white juice from Juju stems, apply to carbuncle swellings to extract the root. Also, dripping juice on an abscess causes immediate suppuration.)

[Zhu Danxi] Treat carbuncles using Cishi (Magnetitum) ground to powder, mixed with vinegar for application and sealing; the root emerges and heals immediately. (Mi Yao)
Treat carbuncles using Bailian (Ampelopsis Radix) ground to powder, mixed with water for application. (Shenghui Fang)

[World/Popular] Treat carbuncles. Use one maggot from within hemp fiber, grind and apply to the sore, then cover with a plaster. Remove the plaster after one meal time; the carbuncle will naturally emerge. This is the most efficacious method for treating carbuncles. Use Chan Tui (Cicada Slough) and Jiang Can (Bombyx Batryticatus) ground to powder, mixed with sour vinegar applied around the perimeter, leaving the sore opening. Wait for the root to grow slightly longer, then extract it, and reapply medicine. Haizang Formula uses only Jiang Can ground to powder, mixed with saliva for application; also good.

[Baoming Ji] Treat carbuncles, Duoming San (Life-Seizing Powder).
Wutoujian (Tip of Aconitum Carmichaelii) Fuzidizi (Base of Aconitum Carmichaelii) Xieshao (Scorpion Tail) Cihuang (Orpiment) Xionghuang (Realgar) (each 1 qian) Wugong (Centipede, 1 liang) Naosha (Sal Ammoniac) Fenshuang (Calomel) Qingfen (Calomel) (each 5 fen) Pi (Arsenic Trioxide, 2.5 qian) Naozi (Borneol, a little) Shexiang (Musk, a little).
Grind into fine powder. First break the sore to release evil blood. Insert the powder wrapped in paper on the tip of a grass stick into the sore, to a depth deemed appropriate.

[Zhu Danxi] Japanese Monk Sanzang's Plaster for Carbuncles.
Jiangzirou (Seed of Croton Tiglium, 10 grains) Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma, one large bulb, ground) Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, half a piece) Qiángláng (Scarabaeus, one insect). Each ground to powder. Mix these four with Chou (Musk). Measure the size of the sore, surround the opening with a paper rope, apply the medicinal mud, cover with silk gauze. Change the medicine frequently until healed. This formula has saved many lives.

[Shengji Zonglu] For severe carbuncles, use Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata) powder mixed with vinegar for application. Reapply when dry. (Same as Qianjin Fang)

[Zhu Danxi] Hupo Gao (Amber Plaster) (See miscellaneous formulas under Carbuncles and Ulcers).
Another prescription: Rotate a needle/knife to break the carbuncle head, apply Chansu (Toad Venom). Then crush Ye Ju Hua (Wild Chrysanthemum Flower), Suo Cao (Cyperi Rhizoma), Hong Cai Tou Ye (Red Beet Leaf) fine, mix thoroughly with unfermented wine and drink as much as possible. Upon waking from the alcohol, the carbuncle dissolves into water, and pain stops. If heat is eliminated, there is no need to remove the carbuncle; it will heal spontaneously.

[World/Popular] Treat carbuncles.
Du Jiao Mao (Imperatae Rhizoma var. major? Or specific local herb) Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix) Xixin (Asari Radix et Rhizoma) Gancaojie (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma with nodes) Bai Jiangcan (Bombyx Batryticatus) Qingpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride) Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma) Qianghuo (Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix) Duhuo (Angelicae Pubescentis Radix) Chan Tui (Cicada Slough) Chi Shaoyao (Paeoniae Radix Rubra) (equal parts).
Coarsely crush. Take 5 qian per dose. First, take one dose, add a little Zelan Ye (Eupatorii Herba) and 1 liang of Ginger, pound into a paste, mix with hot wine and drink. Then, take half a cup of wine and half a cup of water, with three slices of ginger, decoct and drink. This formula is divinely effective.

[Unattributed] Treat thirteen types of carbuncles, all managed by this method.
Take a piece of red silk, wrap medicine to a certain circumference. Place a clump of loose hair the size of an egg on cloth. Place Niuhuang (Bovis Calculus) the size of a paulownia seed. Take twenty-one thorn needles and seven Chi Xiaodou (Adzuki Beans) ground to powder. Place all on the hair bundle. Roll into a ball with red silk cotton, bind tightly with hair rope in a cross shape. Place in a heating iron, burn quickly to ash, grind fine. Use Gouqi (Lycii Fructus) or its seeds, root bark, leaves, or branches whichever is available, ground to powder. Take two scoops of Gouqi powder and one scoop of red silk ash, total three scoops. Grind evenly, divide into two doses. Take on an empty stomach with warm wine.

[World/Popular] Duoming Dan (Life-Seizing Pill) treats carbuncles with nausea and all malignant sores.
Chansu (Toad Venom, 0.5 qian) Zhusha (Cinnabar, water-triturated, 3 fen) Qingfen (Calomel) Kufan (Alumen Exsiccatum) Hanshuishi (Calcitum, water-triturated) (each 1 qian) Tonglv (Vermicomium, 1 zi) Shexiang (Musk, 1 zi) Haiyang (Helix Aspersa/Snail, 20 insects, ground, i.e., Snail).
Grind ingredients into fine powder. Separate the snails, grind into mud, mix with other medicines. Form pills the size of mung beans. If they do not hold shape, add good wine. Mild cases: 1-2 pills. Severe cases: 3 pills. If ineffective, repeat dosage. When taking, chew a large mouthful of Congbai (Scallion White) very well, place in palm, wrap pill in scallion, swallow with hot wine. Lie in a warm place until sweating occurs; this indicates efficacy. Avoid ice water.

[Ruizhutang Jingyan Fang] Fanhun Dan (Soul-Returning Pill) treats thirteen types of carbuncles.
Zhusha (Cinnabar) Danfan (Chalcanthite) (each 1.5 liang) Xuexie (Dragon's Blood) Tonglv (Vermicomium) Woniu (Snail, raw) (each 1 liang) Xionghuang (Realgar) Kubai Fan (Alumen Exsiccatum) (each 1 liang) Qingfen (Calomel) Moyao (Myrrha) Chansu (Toad Venom) (each 0.5 liang) Shexiang (Musk, a little).
Grind snails and toad venom until pasty. Grind remaining herbs to fine powder. Mix and form pills the size of a cocklebur. Take one pill per dose. Have the patient chew 3 cun of scallion white, place in palm, wrap pill in scallion, swallow with one cup of hot wine. If severe, walk about five li (approx. 2.5 km); if sweat appears, it heals. If unable to chew, grind scallion and swallow wrapped; also very effective.

For carbuncle toxins entering the abdomen, causing frequent vomiting and near-death state, immediately take Neituo Xiangfen San (Interior-Supporting Fragrant Powder). Milincu (Frankincense Resin) 0.5 liang, separately ground Zhen Lüdou Fen (True Mung Bean Starch) 1 liang, into fine powder. Decoct Sheng Gancao (Raw Licorice Root) soup, mix 3 qian of powder, drink frequently to keep the chest and diaphragm moistened. (Another formula uses equal parts Xionghuang, Mung Bean Starch, and Ruxiang, ground, mixed with water and taken.)

[World/Popular] For carbuncles entering the abdomen with vomiting, decoct Daoren Tou (Xanthium) strong juice and drink.

For carbuncle toxins entering the abdomen, causing coma, lethargy, and loss of appetite.
Zihua Diding (Viola Yedoensis) Chan Tui (Cicada Slough) Guan Zhong (Dryopteridis Crassirhizoma) (each 1 liang) Dingxiang (Caryophylli Flos) Ruxiang (Olibanum) (each 2 liang).
Grind to fine powder. Take 2 qian per dose on an empty stomach with warm wine. (Zihua Diding appears during wheat harvest, opens purple flowers, texture is brittle, resembling Dandelion, but Dandelion has yellow flowers while Diding has purple flowers.)

[Ruizhutang Jingyan Fang] For critical carbuncles, two doses cure; mild cases heal immediately with one dose.
Tu Fengfang (Ground Wasp Nest, one whole nest. Bencao notes: Ground wasp nest is toxic, promotes urination and defecation) She Tui (Snake Slough, one whole).
Place together in a vessel, seal with yellow clay, calcine over fire to retain nature, grind to fine powder. Take 1 qian per dose on an empty stomach with good wine. Shortly after, severe abdominal pain occurs. Once pain stops, the sore has turned into yellow fluid. Continue taking Wusheng San (Five-Saints Powder).
Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, 1 liang) Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens, 2 liang) Gualou (Trichosanthis Fructus, one) Zaogao Zhen (Gleditsiae Spina, 2 liang) Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, 1 liang) Jinyinhua (Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, 2 liang).
Coarsely crush. Decoct with 2 sheng of good wine until reduced to 8 fen. Strain. Take at any time.

[Luo Zhidi] Po Guan Dan (One formula includes Danggui, Chi Shaoyao, Lianqiao, Muli, Jinyinhua, Zihua Diding; select appropriately.)
Shanzhi (Gardeniae Fructus) Qianniu Mo (Pharbitidis Semen Powder) Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma) (each 1 liang) Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) Jingsanleng (Sparganii Rhizoma, processed) (each 7 qian).
Make pills with refined honey the size of a bullet. Dissolve in wine and take.

[World/Popular] Most effective for treating carbuncles. Use a large handful each of Cang'er (Xanthium) and Chou Mudan (Pennisetum setaceum var. glaucum?), pound into paste. Mix with fresh drawn water or flowing water, take one bowl. Healing occurs upon passing black stool.

[Zhu Danxi] Zhuidu Wan (Poison-Chasing Pill)
Haifushi (Lapillus, calcined red, quenched in vinegar seven times, 0.5 liang) Ruxiang (Olibanum) Moyao (Myrrha) (each 1 qian) Badou (Croton Seed, 49 grains) Chuanwu (Aconiti Radix, 1 liang).
Grind to powder, make pills with vinegar paste the size of sesame seeds. If illness is 2-3 days old, take 10 pills; if 5-6 days, take 14 pills. Adjust dosage based on disease progression. First drink half or one cup of cold wine, then swallow pills with cold wine. If vomiting occurs, it does not matter if the medicine comes up; follow the same dosing. If patient's bowels do not move, take three more pills. If the carbuncle is clearly identified, scratch it open, leave head dirt (scalp wax/debris) on the lesion, then take medicine.

[Zhang Yuansu] [Zhouhou Fang] Critical carbuncle swelling nearing death. One handful of Juluaye (Chrysanthemi Indici Folium), crush and extract one sheng of juice. Swallow immediately for life-saving effect; this is divine. Also use its root. (Danxi notes: Roots, stems, leaves, and flowers are all usable. Purple-stemmed variety is best.)

[Meng Shen] Severe carbuncle swelling. Freshly crush Cang'er genye (Xanthium root and leaves), mix with infant urine, extract juice, take one sheng cold, three times daily; highly effective.

[World/Popular] For carbuncles, drain via their corresponding meridians. Carbuncles must arise between hands and feet, presenting as yellow lesions, sometimes purple-black, with a red line extending straight upwards. In emergencies, urgently prick the end of the red line with a needle to release toxic blood, then apply medicines like Chansu Ruxiang Gao (Toad Venom and Olibanum Plaster) directly on the sore. Pricking is best done when the patient feels pain and bleeding occurs; otherwise, if the red line enters the abdomen and attacks the heart, it will lead to critical danger.

[Baiyi Xuanfang] Treat carbuncle swelling. Prick the four sides with a needle. Apply Shiliupi Mo (Punica Granatum Pericarpium powder) to the sore. Mix flour to form a ring around the four sides. Moxibustion until painful. Apply powder mixture, wrap tightly overnight. The root will naturally emerge.

[Yuxi] For carbuncle swelling with wind-stroke pain, apply heated donkey/horse manure to the sore fifty times; extremely effective.

[Unattributed] 1. Mazidian (Hemp Seed Carbuncle): Arises on flesh, head large like millet grain, slightly black color, edges slightly red and very itchy. Avoid eating hemp seeds, wearing hemp cloth, or walking in hemp fields. 2. Shidian (Stone Carbuncle): Skin and flesh connected, color like black bean, very hard, cannot be pierced into flesh, dull slight pain. Avoid tiles, gravel, bricks. 3. Xiongding (Male Carbuncle): Head black, edges raised, pus/water rises, color yellow, size like a coin hole. Avoid sexual intercourse. 4. Ciding (Female Carbuncle): Sore head slightly yellow pointing inward, resembles moxibustion scar, pus rises on four sides, center concave, color red size like coin hole. Avoid sexual intercourse. 5. Huoding (Fire Carbuncle): Like scalding by boiling water, head black, edges have pus rising like red millet grains. Avoid fire moxibustion/cauterization. 6. Landing (Rotting Carbuncle): Color slightly black, with white scars, sore ulcerates, thick fluid flows out, size like spoon face. Avoid boiling hot food and rotten silk. 7. Sanshiliuliding (Thirty-Six Carbuncle): Head black, floating like black bean, edges bright red. One appears today, two tomorrow, three the day after, up to ten. If thirty-six appear, medicine cannot treat. Common name Heiding (Black Carbuncle). Avoid anger and accumulated sorrow. 8. Shanyanding (Snake Eye Carbuncle): Head black, floating on skin, size like small bean, resembles snake eye, body hard. Avoid bad eyes looking at it, jealous people seeing it, and poisonous drugs. 9. Yankuding (Salt Skin Carbuncle): Size like spoon face, edges all red, black millet grains rise. Greatly avoid salty food. 10. Shuixiding (Water Wash Carbuncle): Size like coin or coin hole, head white, inside black, fluid flows out, center hard. Avoid drinking fermented grain water, washing with water, or crossing rivers. 11. Daolian Ding (Knife/Sickle Carbuncle): Width/narrowness like leek leaf, length one cun, left side flesh black like cauterized. Avoid piercing and cuts from knives/sickles/iron blades. Can be treated with medicine, do not attack randomly. 12. Fou'ouding (Floating Bubble Carbuncle): Body round/curved, slight gap, long/narrow like leek leaf, inside yellow outside black. Black area painless to prick, yellow area painful. 13. Niujuling (Cow Contraction Carbuncle): Flesh rises, cannot be pinched through.

These thirteen types, upon initial onset, must itch before hurting, chill before fever. After fever settles, chills return. Often accompanied by heavy limbs, headache, palpitations, blurred vision. If severe, vomiting and reflux occur; these are difficult to treat. Mazidian exclusively itches throughout; most taboo is touching it; if touched, difficult to treat. Fou'ouding and Niujuling have no taboos; even without treatment, they are not fatal. To know if a taboo was violated, observe if the spine is stiff and sore pain is unbearable; this indicates violation of prohibitions. ("Bu Xiao Qie" is phonetic notation).