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Treating Qing Tui Ya Gan (Green Leg and Gum Rot).

Use mare's milk from a green or white horse, drinking it fresh as soon as it is milked three times a day (morning, noon, and evening); this is very effective. If no green or white horses are available, horses of mixed colors may also be used. If the mare's milk is obtained from elsewhere, the bowl can be warmed by placing it in a basin of hot water before consumption.

This prescription originates from *Yi Zong Jin Jian* (Golden Mirror of Medicine), whose original annotation states: "The name of this condition is rarely recorded in ancient medical texts; it was only transmitted during the Yongzheng reign period." Tao Qilin stated: "For any case where the legs swell and turn blue/green, gum rot (Ya Gan) must necessarily develop above; for any case of gum rot accompanied by putrid blood, green leg (Qing Tui) must necessarily develop below. These two conditions arise sequentially from one another." Inferring the etiology, both result from excessive blazing of Yang Fire in the upper body and closure/depression of Yin Cold in the lower body, leading to a failure of communication between Upper and Lower Yin and Yang. They independently generate cold and heat, condensing to produce this condition. It occasionally occurs in areas near the interior regions, and although it exists in border regions, it is not very common. However, among people from the interior who have just moved to live in border regions, seven or eight out of ten suffer from this condition. This is likely because people from the interior are inherently intolerant to the severe cold of the border regions, and furthermore, they inevitably sit or lie on damp ground. Consequently, phlegm generated from Cold-Dampness arises in the lower part, causing the legs to turn blue/green and swell. The appearance of the disease resembles cloud patches, the color is like dark eggplant black, the flesh is hard and stiff, making walking difficult. Additionally, due to the scarcity of grains in border regions, people consume large amounts of mutton and beef. The heat combines with dampness and steams upward, stagnating in the Stomach. Toxic fire flares up, causing gum rot. The gums become swollen and bleed; if the cheeks perforate or lips break, and the tissue rots and turns black, it indicates a critical prognosis. Only through tradition is there knowledge of the method of consuming mare's milk, which proves quite effective.

Note: I have never personally encountered this condition. My friend Mao XX once treated and cured a patient with this condition. I still recall the general outline of this prescription, so I list it below for reference.

Jinyinhua (Honeysuckle Flower) [5 qian], Lianqiao (Forsythia Fruit) [3 qian], Juhua (Chrysanthemum Flower) [3 qian], Ming Ruxiang (Frankincense) [4 qian], Ming Moyao (Myrrh) [4 qian], Huai Niuxi (Achyranthes Root) [5 qian], Shanzha Pian (Hawthorn Slice) [3 qian], Zhen Lu Jiao Jiao (Deer Antler Glue) [4 qian, pounded into fine powder, taken in two doses, washed down with the decoction from the first and second brews].

Note: If this prescription induces sweating upon administration, recovery will be evident. However, the diaphoretic power of Lianqiao and Juhua in this formula is very weak, so it is feared that sweating may not occur. After taking the medicine, one should take one grain of Aspirin (Western medicine), then sweating will certainly occur. When taking the second dose after sweating has occurred, the dosage of Juhua should be halved.