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After the recovery from a cold damage disease, if proper care is neglected and residual pathogenic factors remain unresolved, yin and yang become disordered. If sweating should have been induced but purgation was mistakenly used, or if purgation should have been applied but sweating was mistakenly induced, this leads to adverse conditions where pathogens cannot be resolved. Since all vessels originate from one source (referring to the common origin of all meridians and blood vessels in the body), the entire body becomes affected by the pathogen, without following the sequential transmission of the six meridians. Consequently, there are symptoms such as wanting to eat but being unable to, wanting to sleep but being unable to, wanting to walk but being unable to, appearing cold yet not actually cold, appearing hot yet not actually hot; the patient remains silent and bewildered, with a bitter taste in the mouth and dark urine; any medicine taken induces vomiting or diarrhea, worsening the condition, as if possessed by evil spirits. The pulse is faint and rapid. This is called Baihe Bing (Lily Disease, a condition characterized primarily by mental restlessness and uncertainty). Therefore, decoctions containing Baihe (Lily Bulb) etc. are used. If headache occurs during urination, recovery takes sixty days. If there is no headache during urination but a sensation of chilliness, recovery takes forty days. If urination is smooth but accompanied by dizziness, recovery takes twenty days.

If residual pathogens from cold damage remain and are further exposed to wind, cold, summerheat, dampness, dryness, or fire, a Huai Bing (Ruined Disease, referring to critical conditions resulting from misdiagnosis/mistreatment or complex progression) forms. Alternatively, if treatment with sweating, emesis, purgation, or warm needle therapy fails to resolve the condition, or if the Xiao Chaihu Tang syndrome has ceased but residual heat persists, these also constitute Huai Bing. This is because the pathogen has passed beyond the meridian stage, with heat lingering in the zang-fu organs, causing chaos in yin and yang. After prolonged illness without recovery, qi and blood gradually decline, leading to this syndrome. One must observe the specific nature of the adverse changes and treat according to the appropriate principles.

"Lao" refers to labor/effort, and "Fu" refers to recurrence of illness. Generally, after a new recovery from cold damage, when qi and blood are not yet stabilized and residual heat remains uncleaned, physical exertion stirs up the residual heat, which returns to the meridians, causing fever to recur. This is not limited to strenuous body movement or carrying heavy loads over long distances; even combing hair, washing face, or summer-time sorrowful thinking can cause recurrence. Is it due to overexertion? Recurrence due to diet is termed "overeating"; excessive intake causes internal stagnation, allowing residual pathogens to re-aggregate due to food retention. It is said that eating grains leads to critical danger, while drinking alcohol exacerbates the severity. The classics state: For fever recurring after cold damage recovery, use Xiao Chaihu Tang to harmonize; for floating and rapid pulses, resolve via sweating; for deep and excess pulses, resolve via purgation. However, the pathogen of cold damage enters from the exterior, whereas the pathogen of Lao Fu arises from within. Alas, dietary recurrence and labor recurrence are treatable, but recurrence due to sexual indiscretion (Yu Nei) leads to death.

In the past, Gu Zixian did not trust Hua Tuo's diagnosis and indeed suffered the verification of his tongue protruding several inches upon death. From this, one can see how alarming this is.