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Treatment for infant "bianzheng" (physiological fever associated with infant growth and development), where fever persists, accompanied by cold damage or warm disease high fever, heat not subsiding after sweating, as well as phlegm-fluid accumulation in the abdomen, difficulty in breastfeeding, vomiting upon feeding, food-induced epilepsy (epileptic symptoms triggered by improper diet), alternating chills and fever.

Hematitum (Dai Zhe Shi), Red Halloysite (Chi Shi Zhi) (each 1 liang), Croton Seed (Ba Dou) (30 seeds), Apricot Kernel (Xing Ren) (50 seeds).
The above four herbs are ground into fine powder. The Croton Seeds and Apricot Kernels are separately ground into a paste, mixed together, and pounded two thousand times until they naturally blend. If the mixture is too hard, add a small amount of honey and continue pounding. Store in a sealed container. For a thirty-day-old infant, administer one pill the size of a hemp seed, followed by a small amount of breast milk to help it go down. After a short while, feed a little more milk, but do not overfeed. By noon, there should be mild diarrhea, and the heat will be eliminated. If the heat is not completely cleared, administer another pill the next morning. For a hundred-day-old infant, administer a pill the size of a mung bean, adjusting the dosage according to age. In summer, when heat is prevalent and rashes are common, it is advisable to administer this once every twenty to thirty days. Zi Wan (Purple Pill) treats a wide range of conditions; although it induces purgation, it does not weaken healthy qi.

Formula for infants suffering from seasonal warm diseases during bianzheng, or contracting seasonal warm diseases outside of the bianzheng period.

Ephedrae Herba (Ma Huang), Apricot Kernel (Xing Ren) (each 0.5 liang), Rhubarbi Radix et Rhizoma (Da Huang) (6 zhu).
For the above three herbs, first grind Ephedra and Rhubarb into a powder. Separately grind Apricot Kernels into a paste-like consistency. Gradually incorporate the powder into the paste, mix thoroughly, and store in a sealed container. For a one-month-old infant, administer one pill the size of a mung bean, mixed with breast milk. Hold the infant to induce sweating, then apply warm powder to the skin, avoiding exposure to wind. For a hundred-day-old infant, administer a pill the size of a jujube pit, adjusting based on the infant's size.

Regarding wet nurses: The blood and qi of the nurse transform into breast milk. The emotional state of the nurse, whether good or bad, is generated by her blood and qi. Therefore, nursing mothers must be cautious with their emotions, particularly joy and anger.
There are many physical characteristics suitable for a wet nurse, though perfection is unattainable. One need only ensure she lacks fox odor, goiter (thyroid enlargement), asthmatic cough, scabies, dermatological disorders with urinary issues, alopecia capitis, ulcers, thick lips, deafness, nasal congestion/epistaxis, and epilepsy. If she lacks these ailments, she may nurse the infant. A physician can identify past illnesses by observing old moxibustion scars.

(Discussions on Two Topics, Twelve Matters: Methods for Predicting Lifespan)
It is stated: Upon birth, wrap a finger in cotton wool and wipe the blue mud and evil blood from the infant's mouth and tongue. This is called "Yu Heng" (also known as "Xian"). If not wiped promptly, upon the first cry, these impurities enter the abdomen, causing myriad diseases.
If an infant does not cry upon landing, pour warm water into the mouth; the infant should cry shortly thereafter. Lack of crying is due to difficult labor and deficient qi. Grasp the umbilical cord and stroke towards the body to guide qi into the abdomen, while blowing air onto the infant up to a hundred times until crying starts spontaneously. Alternatively, gently strike the infant with green onion white parts to induce crying.
Lift the infant immediately after birth; delay causes cold invasion, leading to borborygmus. Bathe the infant first, then cut the umbilical cord. Do not use a knife; instead, have someone bite through it through a single layer of clothing, blow warm air seven times, and then tie it. Leave enough cord length to reach the infant's instep. Shortening it causes cold invasion and abdominal dysregulation with frequent dysentery. Cutting before bathing allows water into the navel, causing abdominal pain. Remove any parasites in the remaining cord stump immediately to prevent abdominal disease. Cut the cord at six cun; too long damages muscles, too short damages organs, and delayed cutting is harmful. If umbilical fluid is not fully drained, yang qi diminishes, leading to cold and "umbilical wind" disease.
Wrap newborn boys in the father's old clothes and girls in the mother's old clothes; avoid new silk. Do not dress too warmly, as this damages skin and blood vessels, causing sores and jaundice. Avoid heavy, hot clothing. Newborns have immature skin; warm clothing causes weak sinews and bones. Expose them to wind and sunlight regularly. Lack of exposure makes skin fragile and susceptible to injury. Use old cotton wadding, not new. On warm, windless days, let the mother play with the infant in the sun. Frequent exposure strengthens blood and qi, making muscles firm and resistant to wind and cold. Keeping infants in curtains with heavy clothing is like plants in shade—soft, brittle, and unable to withstand wind and cold.
To bind the navel: Pound white linen until soft, cut into four-square-cun pieces, place half-inch thick new cotton on top, matching the linen thickness. Adjust tightness; too tight causes vomiting. Unbind and check at twenty days. If the infant cries angrily around ten days, feeling like a刺 (thorn) in the abdomen, the navel may be dry and irritating; unbind and rewrap. Wrap in a closed room with curtains drawn and fire lit to keep warm. Apply warm powder. In winter, if healing fails, apply powder made from burnt red silk. If discharge persists beyond one month, apply powder from burnt toad ash, three to four times daily. Water entering the navel or cold invasion causes colic, curling cries, and cyanotic face/black eyes; treat with warm cotton compresses. Neglect leads to swelling. Treat swelling based on severity; severe cases require moxibustion (up to 80-90 cones); mild cases with discharge and crying require applying powder of Angelicae Radix (Dang Gui) mixed with lead oxide (Hu Fen) and daily warm cotton compresses. Healing occurs by one hundred days, marked by cessation of crying. Green stool indicates cold, similar to navel water entry.
After bathing and cord cutting, do not give Cinnabar Honey (Zhu Mi) immediately; give Licorice Decoction (Gan Cao Tang) instead. Take licorice root the size of a middle finger joint, crush it, boil in two he of water to obtain one he. Dip wrapped cotton in the juice and let the infant suck. Continue until about one clam-shell volume is ingested. The infant should vomit freely, expelling evil fluids from the chest and heart. If vomiting occurs, stop medication. If no vomiting, wait until the infant shows signs of hunger/thirst, then repeat. If still no vomiting, give slowly until the full dose is consumed. Vomiting removes evil fluids, protecting mental clarity. If no vomiting occurs after one he, it means no evil blood was present; discontinue Licorice Decoction and proceed to Cinnabar Honey to calm the spirit and anchor the soul.
Do not give excessive Cinnabar Honey in the first three days; excess causes cold spleen/stomach, abdominal distension, yin epilepsy, rapid breathing, and death from tetanus.
Method for Cinnabar Honey: Mix flying-processed Cinnabar (Zhu Sha) the size of a soybean with one clam-shell of red honey. Dip wrapped chopstick tip and let infant suck. Repeat three dips, consuming one soybean-sized amount per day, spread over three days (total three soybeans). Do not exceed this limit. After Cinnabar Honey, administer Bovis Calculus (Niu Huang) in equivalent amounts. Niu Huang benefits liver/gallbladder, clears heat, calms spirit, stops convulsions, dispels evil qi, and treats various infant diseases.
After three days, open the intestines and assist digestion (Gu Shen). Grind rice into a thick drink, consistency like yogurt. Give bean-sized amounts frequently, stopping after three beans. Three times daily. Start solid food at seven days. At ten days, feed jujube-pit sized portions; double at twenty days; bullet-sized at fifty days. Overloading with grain causes illness, sores, recurrence, weakness, and difficulty nurturing. After thirty days, do not overfeed. Do not force-feed if appetite is poor; forced indigestion causes disease. Poor feeding indicates phlegm-fluid retention; treat mildly with Si Wu Zi Wan (Four-Ingredient Purple Pill), regulate feeding, and self-heal within days. Mild chills/fever also requires purgation for recovery.
Do not overfeed infants; overfeeding causes vomiting. If vomiting occurs, feed less. Empty breast feeding resolves congestion. Four times daily. If navel is unhealed, overfeeding invites wind into the navel. Summer: remove hot milk to prevent vomiting/regurgitation. Winter: remove cold milk to prevent cough/dysentery. Nursing after intercourse causes emaciation and inability to walk. Nursing with maternal heat causes jaundice and anorexia. Nursing with maternal anger causes fright, qi hernia, upper-jiao hernia, and mania. Nursing after vomiting/purging causes deficiency/emaciation. Nursing after drunkenness causes fever and abdominal fullness.
Infants under one month benefit greatly from pig milk.
Wet nurses should massage breasts thoroughly before feeding to disperse heat and prevent forceful ejection which causes choking. Pause feeding if needed, rest, then resume. Repeat five to ten times to gauge hunger/fullness and establish a routine. Always express residual milk. If infant lies down, support head with arm to align breast level, preventing choking. Stop feeding if mother sleeps to avoid suffocation and inability to judge hunger.
Bathing Method:
Water temperature must be balanced. Imbalance causes fright and internal organ disorders. Winter: avoid long baths to prevent cold damage. Summer: avoid long baths to prevent heat damage. Frequent baths causing cold back trigger epilepsy. No bathing causes hair loss. For newborns, add bile from one pig gallbladder to bathwater; prevents sores/scabies lifelong. Do not use impure water.
On the third day, bathe in Peach Root Decoction: Peach root, Plum root, and Apricot root (each 2 liang), branches acceptable. Chop, boil in three dou of water for twenty boils, strain, and bathe. Removes misfortune, prevents sores/scabies.
For fright and evil qi, use Mugwort and Tiger Bone Bath: Mugwort (1 jin), Tiger skull bone (1 piece). Boil in three dou of water. Prepare as needed.
Treat oral thrush (white patches like rice grains on tongue/nose): Caused by excessive grain qi in womb or maternal glutinous rice consumption. Wipe with hair-wrapped chopstick dipped in well water for three days until flakes fall off. If stubborn, use concentrated walnut juice applied similarly. In spring/summer without walnuts, use walnut bark decoction.
Treat ankyloglossia (tongue tied): Membrane under tongue connects to tongue base, hindering speech. Snip with fingernail; slight bleeding is harmless. If bleeding persists, apply burnt hair powder to stop it.
By six-seven days, blood/qi consolidates into flesh, clearing mouth/throat. If obstruction exists (like reed husk holding water) or uvula swelling, pierce with cotton-wrapped long needle (exposing blade tip size of millet grain) to release gas and drain yellow/red blood. Observe after one puncture; repeat next day if unresolved. Max three punctures resolve it. Sublingual lesions are "Chong She" (Double Tongue); palatal lesions are "Chong E" (Double Palate); gingival lesions are "Chong Yin" (Double Gums). Drain blood in all cases.
Treatment for stillbirth indicators:
Check for blisters anterior to the uvula. Puncture with finger to drain blood; ensure blood does not enter throat (fatal). Newborns' flesh is initially blood; coagulation forms muscle. Failed coagulation causes yellowing around nose/mouth, crying, eye closure, puckered mouth, dry mouth, limb immobility—all signs of failed blood consolidation, indicating poor survival prospects. Administer Gentian Decoction (Long Dan Tang) (see Epilepsy section).
Methods for Predicting Lifespan:
Continuous, prolonged crying indicates longevity.
Crying that stops and restarts urgently indicates short life.
Scattered crying indicates failure to mature.
Deep crying indicates failure to mature.
No blood in navel is auspicious.
Small navel indicates short life.
Whole body soft as if boneless indicates short life.
Fair-skinned and large indicates longevity.
Spontaneous eye opening indicates failure to mature.
Misaligned gaze with frequent blinking is very unfavorable.
Sweating blood indicates bad luck and short life.
Non-flowing sweat indicates failure to mature.
Urine congealing like fat indicates failure to mature.
Split head indicates failure to mature.
Constant limb shaking indicates failure to mature.
Early sitting, walking, teething, speaking indicate negative traits, not auspicious.
Incomplete head hair indicates failure to mature.
Sparse hair with strength indicates deafness/inattentiveness.
Whorl on forehead indicates early nobility but harm to parents.
Incomplete occipital bone: dies after speaking.
Incomplete sacrum: dies after squatting.
Incomplete palm bones: dies after crawling.
Incomplete heel bones: dies after walking.
Incomplete patellae: dies after standing.
Body unable to contract: death.
Fish-mouth anus: death.
No flesh between thighs: death.
Broken chin: death.
Flaccid penis: death.
White scrotum: death; red scrotum: death.
Open testicular seam with black color: longevity.
Discussion: For infants aged three to ten, observe temperament and demeanor to estimate lifespan. Highly intelligent/sensitive infants often die young (e.g., Ding Huan, Yan Hui). Infants with mature bone structure, dignified movement, and slower development tend to live long. Those who anticipate others' thoughts quickly also die young (e.g., Yang Xiu, Kong Rong). Thus, late bloomers are likely to live long, akin to plum blossoms failing to survive winter or chrysanthemums blooming late in the year. Late maturity is a sign of longevity.