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When children under three years of age are ill, one must examine the fingerprint patterns on the Tiger's Mouth (Hu Kou) Three Passes (San Guan) of the left hand for boys and the right hand for girls. The proximal phalanx joint of the index finger is called the Wind Pass (Feng Guan); the middle phalanx joint is called the Qi Pass (Qi Guan); and the distal phalanx joint is called the Life Pass (Ming Guan). The patterns vary in curvature and straightness. If the pattern appears only at the proximal joint (Wind Pass), the disease is easy to treat; if it extends through the middle joint (Qi Pass), the disease is severe; if it reaches the distal joint (Life Pass), it is difficult to treat.

A blue-green pattern indicates fright (Jing); a pale red color indicates cold-heat pathogens at the exterior (Biao); a deep red color necessarily indicates wind injury or smallpox/rubella conditions.
A chaotic pattern indicates a long-standing disease; a fine/thin pattern indicates abdominal pain with frequent crying and indigestion of milk and food; a thick, straight pattern extending toward the nail tip necessarily indicates convulsions (Jing Feng) and critical conditions; a black pattern like ink indicates a critical, difficult-to-treat condition. This constitutes one aspect of the "Divine, Sage, Artisan, and Skillful" diagnostic techniques.

The Tiger's Mouth refers to the area where the thumb and index finger cross. The Three Passes are located on the second finger (index finger), corresponding to the three joints.
The first joint is the Wind Pass; the second joint is the Qi Pass; the third joint is the Life Pass.

The fingerprint on the child's index finger distinguishes the Three Passes. For boys, observe the left hand; for girls, the right hand—the method is the same. It is known that the initial stage corresponds to the Wind Pass, reflecting wind-strike patterns; the terminal end corresponds to the Ming Gate (Life Pass), which is both easy to perceive and difficult to cure. To understand the Qi patterns and pulses of the Tiger's Mouth, invert the finger to observe and distinguish five colors. Red and yellow indicate harmonious internal organs and peace; red-purple suggests slight damage or deficiency; purple-blue indicates food retention, Qi deficiency, and irritability; when green-black appears, the symptoms are adverse/rebellious; if pure black suddenly appears among them, even skilled physicians may feel their courage falter. If the pattern rises straight to the Life Pass, its length relative to a grain of rice divides the prognosis into two ends. A pattern shooting forth like a spear indicates the arrival of convulsions; branching into twigs presents several variations. An arch curving inward is favorable (Shun); outward is unfavorable (Ni). When favorable and unfavorable intertwine, even the favorable becomes difficult. Variations in branch length can still be saved. Physicians must examine such details carefully.

Initially, check if the palm is hot to know if the body is feverish. Heat in the abdomen with cold feet confirms food stagnation; heat in the feet and forehead indicates wind invasion; cold forehead with hot feet indicates fright; redness behind the ears signals the eruption of sores/rashes. If a healthy child suddenly cries out loudly, it is either convulsions or Tian Diao disease. Loud crying, rapid breathing, and long, coarse sounds suggest ingestion of hot toxins blocking the heart orifices. Urgent emetic or purgative methods are needed to harmonize the Spleen and Stomach; using anti-convulsant drugs would be laughable. After dysentery, straining with furrowed brows indicates intestinal wind; no straining and no furrowing also indicates intestinal wind. Cold-heat imbalance differentiates red and white dysentery; rectal prolapse is caused by toxic heat attacking internally. Among the twelve types of dysentery, which are malignant? Jin Kou Li (closed-mouth dysentery) and Gua Chang Li (scraping-intestine dysentery) are vastly different.

Children should not be treated with purgatives indiscriminately. If there is no fever but spontaneous sweating and diarrhea, with mental fatigue, sunken fontanelle, and cold limbs; dry heaving, Qi deficiency, timidity, vomiting worms, pale complexion, and brittle hair; Fu Qi tidal fever, indigestion, nasal congestion, cough, deficient phlegm, fine pulse, borborygmus, and irritability—then there is accumulation, and only then should one consider unblocking. Purgation at this stage will surely cause complications. However, if the child has excess-heat, purgation is permissible. Signs include red face, red eyes, strong breath, large/stringy/hurrying pulse, abdominal heat, mumps/sore throat, urine like boiling water, hard stool, abdominal distension, fullness in hypochondrium, edema of four limbs, prolonged night crying, widespread sores, and dull abdominal pain. In such cases, purgation leads to recovery and is the excellent method.